Supreme Court stays HC relief to Katol council chief in caste validity case
The apex court set aside interim relief given by the Bombay High Court to Katol Municipal Council president Archana Deshmukh, reviving a panel's order cancelling her caste certificate
A cloud has descended on the chair of Archana Deshmukh, president of Katol Municipal Council in Nagpur district. The Supreme Court has stayed a Bombay High Court order that had granted her interim relief against a caste scrutiny committee's decision cancelling her caste validity. This means the committee's decision will, for now, be treated as in force.
The case relates to the general election held in Katol Municipal Council on December 2, 2025. Archana Deshmukh had contested for the post of president from a seat reserved for OBC (women). When results were declared on December 21, 2025, she defeated her nearest rival by a large margin of 2,300 votes.
While filing her nomination, Archana Deshmukh had submitted a "Kunbi", that is OBC, caste certificate. As required, she had also given an undertaking to furnish a caste validity certificate within six months, following which her claim was sent to the caste scrutiny committee for verification. However, on June 19, 2026, the committee rejected her claim, stating that the school records of the petitioner and her father listed the caste as "Maratha", not Kunbi.
Archana Deshmukh moved the High Court against the committee's decision, challenging the order. After hearing the matter, the High Court had granted an interim stay on the order cancelling her caste validity, allowing her to retain her hold on the post of president until then.
However, a special leave petition was filed in the Supreme Court by Kalpana Umap against this High Court order. Hearing the petition, Supreme Court judges Prashant Kumar Mishra and Chandrashekhar stayed the High Court's order.
Following the Supreme Court's order, the caste scrutiny committee's earlier decision has now come back into effect for the time being. The direct effect of this is that although Archana Deshmukh continues to hold the post of president of Katol Municipal Council at present, her position is now under threat because of the Supreme Court's order.
Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Gaurav Agarwal, along with advocates Mohit Khajanchi and Mahesh Dhatrak, represented the petitioners before the Supreme Court. The entire dispute over the post of Katol Municipal Council president is also being seen as significant from the standpoint of local politics.
