New Delhi, Sept. 7 -- The Supreme Court has protected the retiral and pensionary benefits of a retired municipal engineer whose claim of belonging to the Tokre Koli Scheduled Tribe was invalidated, while leaving the cancellation of his caste certificate undisturbed.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M. Pancholi, in its 3 September 2026 judgment in Shirish Pandharinath Patil v. State of Maharashtra & Ors., exercised its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to protect the benefits of the employee's more than three decades of service.

The Supreme Court made it clear that the relief was limited to the employee's retiral and pensionary benefits and did not amount to recognition of his claim that he belonged to the Scheduled...