Court says benefits under caste certificate cannot be withdrawn until 30 days after rejection of appeal, and directs CET Cell to consider admission without insisting on Tribe Validity Certificate.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has granted ad-interim relief to a student seeking admission to a Civil Engineering course after his Scheduled Tribe status was invalidated by the Scrutiny Committee, holding that educational benefits based on a caste certificate cannot be withdrawn immediately when an appeal is pending.
A division bench of Justice R.I. Chagla and Justice Firdosh P. Pooniwalla was hearing a writ petition filed by Vivek, who approached the court in urgency as the deadline for submitting his Tribe Validity Certificate had already expired on September 7, 2026. His counsel informed the court that although the State CET Cell had not yet cancelled his allotment to Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Mumbai, the student feared losing his seat if the certificate was not produced.
The petitioner relied on an earlier order of the High Court dated September 3, 2026, in which the court had considered a Government Resolution dated July 2, 2026. That resolution had granted six months’ time to candidates belonging to SEBC and OBC categories for submission of caste validity certificates. The court had earlier noted that no reason was given for denying similar benefit to Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Vimukta Jatis, and Nomadic Tribes. A subsequent Government Resolution dated September 4, 2026, also extended time to categories other than Scheduled Tribes for submission of validity certificates.
Taking note of these developments, the court observed that in the interest of students, provisional admission should be protected. It directed the CET Cell to consider the petitioner’s admission to the Civil Engineering course and grant provisional admission without insisting on submission of the Tribe Validity Certificate.
The court also recorded that the petitioner had already filed an appeal challenging the order dated September 1, 2026, passed by the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Verification Committee, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Referring to Section 10(5) of the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000, the bench held that once an appeal is filed, benefits granted on the basis of the caste certificate cannot be withdrawn until 30 days after the appellate authority rejects the appeal.
Accordingly, the High Court held that the benefits flowing from the caste certificate could not be withdrawn at this stage and allowed the student to continue provisionally in the admission process. The court clarified that the order was purely ad-interim and subject to the final outcome of the writ petition, and that no equity would accrue to the petitioner because of this interim protection.
The respondents have been given three weeks to file their affidavit in reply, and the matter has been posted for further hearing on October 6, 2026.
Bottom Line :
Education admission - Tribe Validity Certificate - Where student claiming Scheduled Tribe status had challenged invalidation order by filing appeal, High Court granted ad-interim protection and directed CET Cell to consider and grant provisional admission without insisting on Tribe Validity Certificate - Benefits based on caste certificate cannot be withdrawn till thirty days from rejection of appeal by Appellate Authority in view of Section 10(5) of the 2000 Act.
Statutory provision(s): Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000, Section 10(5)
Vivek v. State of Maharashtra, (Bombay)(DB) : Law Finder Doc id # 2982732
