The Bombay High Court has set aside an order of the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee that invalidated the tribe claim of two brothers, holding that the committee wrongly relied on the affinity test while ignoring strong documentary evidence including pre-Independence records and caste validity certificates issued to close relatives.
A Division Bench of Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe allowed the writ petitions filed by Avinash Bharat Ahire and his brother Tushar Bharat Ahire, directing the Scrutiny Committee to issue caste validity certificates recognising them as belonging to the “Thakur” Scheduled Tribe.
The dispute arose after the Nashik Division Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, by an order dated May 4, 2019, invalidated the petitioners’ claim of belonging to the Thakur Scheduled Tribe. The committee concluded that the petitioners failed the affinity test and questioned their cultural traits and geographical association with the tribe.
The decision had serious consequences for Avinash Ahire, who had been appointed as a Sales Tax Inspector in 2015 against a post reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category. His appointment was subject to submission of a caste validity certificate.
Aggrieved by the rejection of their tribe claim, the brothers approached the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking quashing of the committee’s order.
The petitioners produced several documents to substantiate their tribal status. These included school records and official documents consistently recording their caste as “Thakur”. Most significantly, they relied on a school record of their grandfather dating back to 1917, which recorded the caste as Thakur.
They also submitted caste validity certificates issued earlier to their real brother and cousin brothers by competent scrutiny committees. In addition, affidavits establishing genealogy and land records relating to tribal land ownership were placed on record.
The Vigilance Cell had verified many of these documents and confirmed that the caste entries of the petitioners and their relatives consistently reflected the Thakur community.
The High Court held that the Scrutiny Committee failed to properly consider the documentary evidence and instead invalidated the claim largely on the basis of the affinity test.
The bench noted that pre-constitutional documents carry strong evidentiary value in caste verification matters, particularly when they consistently record the caste of ancestors.
It further observed that the committee ignored the validity certificates issued to the petitioners’ close blood relatives without recording any finding that those certificates were obtained through fraud or misrepresentation.
The court held that such an approach was contrary to settled legal principles governing caste verification.
Referring to precedents of the Supreme Court, the High Court reiterated that the affinity test cannot be treated as a litmus test for determining tribal status.
The judges explained that people belonging to Scheduled Tribes who have lived for long periods in urban areas may not possess detailed knowledge of traditional customs or rituals. Therefore, failure in an affinity test cannot by itself outweigh reliable documentary evidence.
Allowing the petitions, the High Court quashed the Scrutiny Committee’s order and directed it to issue caste validity certificates to the petitioners.
As a consequence, the court held that Avinash Ahire would be entitled to continue in service as a Sales Tax Inspector appointed under the Scheduled Tribe reservation category after submitting the validity certificate.
The related interim application concerning service benefits and seniority was also disposed of in view of the court’s decision.
Case Details
Case Title: Avinash s/o.Bharat Ahire Versus The State Of Maharashtra
Citation: JURISHOUR-275-HC-2026(BOM)
Case No.: WRIT PETITION NO. 6498 OF 2019
Date: 20 FEBRUARY 2026
Counsel For Petitioner: Sahil Chaudhari i/b. MR. Sushant C. Yeramwar
Counsel For Respondent: Savita A. Prabhune
