Bombay High Court
Sonali Rajendra Nagargoje vs The State Of Maharashtra Through ... on 17 July, 2021
Bench: Ravindra V. Ghuge, S. G. Mehare
903-wp-2629-2020 judg.odt
(1)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
BENCH AT AURANGABAD
WRIT PETITION NO.2629 OF 2020
Smt. Sonali Rajendra Nagargoje
Age 32 years, Occ. Service as
Assistant Teacher,
R/o Shikshak Colony,
Nagar Road, Beed,
Tal. & District Beed, ...Petitioner
Versus
1. The State of Maharashtra
Through its Principal Secretary,
School Education Department,
Mantralaya, Mumbai-32.
2. The Deputy Director of Education,
Aurangabad Division, Aurangabad.
3. The Education Ofcer (Secondary),
Zilla Parishad, Beed.
4. The Superintendent,
Pay and PF Unit,
Zilla Parishad, Beed.
5. The Secretary,
Shrinath Shikshan Prasarak Mandal,
Kordyachi Wadi,
Tal. & District Beed.
6. The Headmaster,
Subhadrabai Secondary School,
Nagar Road, Beed,
Tal. & District Beed. ...Respondents.
...
Mr. S.S. Thombre, Advocate for the Petitioner.
Mr. S.B. Yawalkar, AGP for Respondent Nos.1 to 4.
Mr. S. B. Solanke, Advocate for Respondent Nos.5 & 6.
...
CORAM : RAVINDRA V. GHUGE &
S.G. MEHARE, J.J.
DATED : 17th JULY, 2021
903-wp-2629-2020 judg.odt
ORAL JUDGMENT (PER RAVINDRA V. GHUGE J.) :-
1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith and heard fnally by the
consent of the parties.
2. The petitioner is before us with a prayer that her unpaid
salary bills be released. She has put-forth prayer clause (b) and (c) as
under:
"b. By issuing writ of Mandamus or any other writ, order in
the like nature, direct the respondent nos.5 and 6 to submit
the pay bills of the petitioner to the Education Ofcer and the
Education Ofcer may kindly be directed to release the salary
of the petitioner and for that purpose issue necessary orders;
c. Pending the hearing and fnal disposal of the present
Petition, direct the respondent nos.5 and 6 to submit the pay
bills of the petitioner to the Education Ofcer and the
Education Ofcer may kindly be directed to release the salary
of the petitioner and for that purpose issue necessary orders;"
3. After considering the extensive submissions of the learned
advocates for the respective sides, we are shocked to note that the then
Education Ofcer, Smt. Usmani Nazma Sultana directed the management
to fle an afdavit dated 28.09.2019 undertaking that they will not forward
the salary bills of the junior-most teacher, notwithstanding that the said
teacher is eligible to be appointed and has been legally appointed, only
because one, Smt. Meera Pandurang Gilbile, unconnected with the
present petitioner, had challenged her termination before the School
Tribunal vide her Appeal No.25 of 2018.
4. There is absolutely no dispute that the service of the
petitioner and her performance of duties, are unconnected with Smt.
903-wp-2629-2020 judg.odt
Gilbile or her termination. Smt. Gilbile has approached the School
Tribunal challenging the action of the employer of terminating her services
with efect from 15.06.2019, terming such act as being an illegal act on
the part of the management. The termination of Smt. Gilbile is
unconnected with the employment of the petitioner and it is not that Smt.
Gilbile has been terminated to accommodate, or show favoritism
regardless of merits, the petitioner.
5. Since a serious allegation was made on oath by the
management vide there afdavit in reply dated 05.07.2021 attributing the
above acts to the education ofcer, we called upon the learned AGP to
take instructions. We appreciate the steps taken by the learned AGP in
placing on record an afdavit, through the present Education Ofcer
(Secondary), within 24 hours, on 16.07.2021. The learned AGP points
out that the only reason why the then Education Ofcer, Smt. Sultana
extracted an afdavit from the management was in anticipation that if Smt.
Gilbile is reinstated, the salary grants must be available to pay her salary
or backwages, as may be directed by the School Tribunal.
6. We fnd such act on the part of Smt. Sultana to be not only a
high handed act, but a strange act which was based on the idea that
struck the education ofcer to deprive the petitioner, a junior-most teacher
in the institution, of her salary so as to pay Smt. Gilbile apprehending that
some day Smt. Gilbile might get reinstated in employment. This act of
Smt. Sultana would therefore amount to be a Robin Hood act. It was like,
robbing Paul to pay Peter. Such an act cannot be countenanced and
cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.
903-wp-2629-2020 judg.odt
7. In view of the above, this petition is allowed. Respondent
nos. 5 and 6 - Management/Headmaster, shall ensure that all the pending
salary bills of the petitioner, for the unpaid salary, shall be placed before
respondent no.3, Education Ofcer, on or before 23.07.2021 and the said
bills shall be cleared by the Education Ofcer. We direct respondent
nos.3 and 4 to clear the said salary bills with such promptitude that the
said arrears of wages shall be deposited in the salary bank account of the
petitioner on or before the 07 th day of August, 2021. So also, the regular
monthly salary of the petitioner shall also be cleared along with all other
teachers.
8. We would be failing in our duty if we ignore the conduct of
Smt. Usmani Nazma Sultana, the then Education Ofcer, who had
arbitrarily extracted an afdavit from the management, which is conceded
by the statement made in the afdavit in reply dated 16.07.2021 fled by
the present education ofcer. If we blink at such a conduct of an
Education Ofcer, it would not be surprising that we would come across
many such instances. We are therefore, imposing cost of Rs.50,000/- on
the said Education Ofcer, Smt. Sultana and the said amount shall be paid
to the petitioner in 10 equated installments. The Drawing and Disbursing
Ofcer (DDO) shall debit the amount of Rs.5,000/- per month from the
pensionary benefts of Smt. Sultana and deposit the said amounts in the
salary bank account of the petitioner.
9. Rule is made absolute in the above terms.
(S.G. MEHARE. J) (RAVINDRA V. GHUGE, J)
Mujaheed//
