The Bombay High Court recently asked the Maharashtra Government to constitute a committee to decide on the issue of whether a clause in exceptional circumstances, can be entered in the ‘Aaple Sarkar’ web portal to enable an applicant to tender the details of the mother’s social status.

The High Court was considering a Petition filed by the Petitioner with a plea that a caste certificate based on her mother's caste be granted to her. The Petitioner also sought an amendment of the Aaple Sarkar Portal allowing the users to enter the details of their mother's caste for availing the caste certificate.

The Division Bench of Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Ashwin D. Bhobe asserted, “In catena of Judgements, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has cautioned that such certificate can be granted after a proper scrutiny and due verification of the records.”

Advocate Aditya Pratap appeared for the Petitioner while AGP V.M. Mali appeared for the Respondents.

Factual Background

The Petitioner is a 30-year-old lady whose father belongs to the Jain community which falls in the open category. Her mother claims to belong to the Shimpi Community (from her paternal side) falling in the OBC category. The Petitioner applied for a caste certificate on the basis of her mother’s caste. The said application was rejected by the Authorities.

Reasoning

The Bench was of the view that while dealing with such matters, the Court has to be conscious of the fact as regards the purpose and object of seeking such a caste certificate on the basis of the mother’s social status since the mother belongs to the reserved category. As per the Bench, the facts were being distorted by the Petitioner for a self-serving purpose.

After analysing the pleadings and averments of the petitioner, the Bench noticed that there was a motivated attempt made by her to draw the benefit of reservation, despite having been brought up by her father who belongs to an upper caste. It was nowhere pleaded in the Writ Petition memo, that her father separated from her mother long ago or that her mother is destitute or that it was the mother who singularly raised the child and it was she who has influenced and nurtured her.

“In the entire Petition, neither the Petitioner states that her mother was living separately along with her parents and the Petitioner was in her custody or that there are any proceedings pertaining to any marital discord between the couple or that the father had turned his back on the family and had left the company of the wife and the daughter and had virtually deserted them”, it further noted.

Her mother had not spent on her education, being unemployed and there was no such contention made in the pleadings. Her address and her father’s address are the same too. Referring to the judgments relied on by the Petitioner, the Bench said, “The presumption that the child has the caste of the father, cannot be rebutted and such presumption may be stronger in the case where the marriage is inter-caste. But, by no means can such presumption be conclusive or irrebuttable and it is open to the child of such marriage to establish that he/she is brought up only by the mother who belongs to the scheduled caste or the scheduled tribe.”

The facts of the case suggested that after completing her graduation at the age of 21-22 years, she made various attempts in the competitive exams, and failed. As per the contention of the Petitioner, she had been appearing for several competitive exams on the basis of her father’s social status of being a Jain falling in the open category and having failed in securing a job in any of the competitive exams, the mother applied for a Shimpi Caste Certificate for the first time in April 4, 2022. After she received it on April 26, 2022, the Petitioner made an application in July, 2022. “Obviously, after leading a life in an upper caste father’s house, having had taken education in reputed schools and colleges, she had an advantageous start in life and now she desires to take advantage of her mother’s reservation”, the Bench said.

“This Petition has been filed for self serving purposes. We also sense that an attempt to misrepresent has been made. However, we wish to give a ‘quietus’ to this issue”, the Bench held while dismissing the Petition.“..it would be appropriate for the Government to constitute a proper committee which is assisted with data/information, so as to consider, whether a clause in exceptional circumstances, can be entered in the ‘Aaple Sarkar’ portal to enable an applicant to tender the details of the mother’s social status”, the Bench concluded.

Cause Title: Swanubhuti Jeevraj Jain v. The State of Maharashtra (Neutral Citation: 2025:BHC-AS:7837-DB)

Appearance:

Petitioner: Advocates Aditya Pratap, Abha Singh, Aditya Pratap Law Offices

Respondent: AGP V.M. Mali

Click here to read/download Order




Bombay High CourtJustice Ravindra V GhugeJustice Ashwin D. BhobeCaste Certificate

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.