RANJANA vs STATE OF MAHARASHTRA .

The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Bombay High Court which dismissed the appellant's writ petition challenging the Caste Scrutiny Committee's order that invalidated her claim to belong to the 'Mahar' caste. The Court noted that despite being born into a 'Mahar' family, the appellant was baptized as a Christian and failed to prove her conversion to Buddhism, thus disqualifying her from contesting elections as a Scheduled Caste candidate under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950. The Court emphasized the importance of verifying caste claims in electoral contexts, affirming the Committee's findings as valid and justified.