Disposed¶30

Vishal Shivaji Ahire v. the State of Maharashtra Thr Principal Secretary and Ors.

Bombay HC1 Apr 2025WP/4367/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Bombay High Court writ petition disposed as worked out; stranger/bystander complaints against school employees; Education Officer (Secondary) Zilla Parishad Nashik; Deputy Director of Education Nashik Division; Government Circular 18.02.2025 Department of Higher and Technical Education Maharashtra; Nishant Namdeorao Gatkal W.P. 2492 of 2024 order 23.10.2024; Shalarth Pranali attaching and detaching; withdrawal of impugned orders; Vishal Shivaji Ahire vs State of Maharashtra.

What did the court decide?

Withdrawal of the impugned orders by the State (communication dated 3rd April 2025 tendered by the Addl.GP and taken on record marked 'X'); attaching and detaching as per the Shalarth Pranali to be completed within 15 days; writ petition disposed as worked out. ¶30

Vishal Shivaji Ahire vs the State of Maharashtra Thr Principal Secretary and Ors. — Bombay HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether action initiated by the Education Officer on a stranger's complaint against employees of an educational institution could stand, given the Government Circular dated 18.02.2025 reflecting this Court's direction that complaints by strangers or bystanders are not to be entertained.

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Court's answer

The Court expressed dismay that the Education Officer acted swiftly on a stranger's allegations against employees working in an educational institution.

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Ratio / Principle

The orders dated 24.12.2024 and 02.08.2023 (same Education Officer) and the order dated 12.07.2023 (Deputy Director of Education) were all passed on complaints by strangers and predate the Government Circular dated 18.02.2025.

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Key takeaways

The Additional Government Pleader tendered a communication dated 03.04.2025 wherein the impugned orders are said to have been withdrawn and the attaching and detaching as per the Shalarth Pranali would be done within 15 days.ratio¶26
In view of the above, the Writ Petition stands worked out and is disposed off.ratio¶30

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Stranger's complaint against employees of an educational institution — Education Officer (Secondary), Zilla Parishad, Nashik passed orders dated 24.12.2024 and 02.08.2023 on complaints of strangers (Prabhakar Aher, Shivaji Patil, Hemant Sonavane, Dilip Pawar), and the Deputy Director of Education, Nashik Division passed an order dated 12.07.2023 on the complaint of Shivaji Panditrao Patil and two others; all predate the Government Circular dated 18.02.2025 (Department of Higher and Technical Education, Maharashtra) which verbatim reproduced the Division Bench order dated 23.10.2024 in W.P. No. 2492 of 2024 (Nishant Namdeorao Gatkal) directing that complaints by strangers or bystanders not be entertained. Addl.GP tendered a communication dated 03.04.2025 recording withdrawal of the impugned orders and completion of attaching/detaching as per Shalarth Pranali within 15 days (taken on record marked 'X'); writ petition disposed as worked out.

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Digitally signed by TRUPTI TRUPTI SADANAND SADANAND BAMNE BAMNE Date: 2025.04.09 11:50:19 +0530

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Trupti

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

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WRIT PETITION NO. 4367 OF 2025

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Vishal Shivaji Ahire … Petitioner versus The State of Maharashtra & Ors. … Respondents

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Mr.Mandar G. Bagkar for the Petitioner. Mr.B.V.Samant, Addl.GP for the Respondent -State. Mr.C.G.Gavnekar with Mr.Rohit Parab for Respondent No.4Management.

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CORAM : RAVINDRA V. GHUGE & ASHWIN D. BHOBE, JJ.

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DATE : 04^TH APRIL, 2025

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P.C. :-

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This is a case wherein a stranger approaches the

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Education Officer and levels allegations against the employees working in an educational institution. To our dismay, the Education Officer is quick in initiating action.

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Mr. Pravin Patil, the Education Officer (Secondary), Zilla Parishad, Nashik has passed the impugned order dated 24^th December, 2024 clearly mentioning that a person, namely, Mr. Aher Prabhakar Daulatrao, has complained about the affairs of the Institution.

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Trupti

The learned Advocate for Respondent No.4 Management informs that the wife of Mr. Aher is employed in the Institution and because she did not get a favorable posting, he has started complaining along with few others, which are subject matter of other pending Petitions.

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The learned Advocate for the Petitioner points out the Government Circular dated 18^th February, 2025 issued by the Department of Higher and Technical Education, Government of Maharashtra, wherein a reference to an order passed by the Division of this Court, to which one of us is a party (Ravindra V. Ghuge, J.), dated 23^rd October, 2024 in Writ Petition No. 2492 of 2024 (Nishant Namdeorao Gatkal and Another vs. The State of Maharashtra and Others) . Several paragraphs of the order have been verbatim reproduced in the Government Circular mentioning the direction of this Court to the State Government to issue directives to ensure that complaints by strangers or bystanders are not entertained.

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The impugned order dated 24^th December, 2024 as well as the order dated 2^nd August, 2023, are passed by the same Education Officer on the complaint of Mr.Prabhakar Aher,

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Trupti

Mr.Shivaji Patil, Mr.Hemant Sonavane and Mr.Dilip Pawar. The order dated 12^th July, 2023 is passed by Dr.B.B.Chavan, the Deputy Director of Education, Nashik Division, Nashik on the complaint of Mr.Shivaji Panditrao Patil and two others. These orders are prior in time to the date of the Government Circular, which is 18^th February, 2025.

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The learned Addl.GP has made an effort to make us believe that after this Government Circular, none of the Education Officers or the Superior Officers would be passing such type of orders. He graciously submits that if this Court comes across any such orders, post the Government Circular, this Court may deal with the matter on its own merits. For the present, he tenders a communication dated 3^rd April, 2025 addressed to the learned Addl. Government Pleader wherein the impugned orders are said to have been withdrawn and the attaching and detaching as per the Shalarth Pranali, would be done, within 15 days. A photostat copy of the said communication is tendered to the Court, which is taken on record and marked as ‘X’ for identification.

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Trupti