Sandya Shrikant Pardeshi vs the Block Education Officer and Ors. — Bombay HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Sandya Shrikant Pardeshi vs the Block Education Officer and Ors. — Bombay HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petition allowed and Rule made absolute: Zilla Parishad to forward pension proposal within 30 days; authority/State to approve pensionary benefits within a further 45 days; pension and all arrears to be paid within 45 days of the formal approval; failure of timelines attracts 6% per annum interest from the date pension became payable, recoverable from the responsible officer.

Issue for consideration

Whether the Zilla Parishad can withhold the Petitioner's retirement benefits, given that she was appointed on the presumption of belonging to the reserved NT(B) category, served for 33 years without any reserved-category benefit, never claimed a Validity Certificate, and no deceit, misrepresentation or fraud is attributable to her.

Court's answer

No element of deceit, misrepresentation or fraud is found on the Petitioner's part: she never claimed a Validity Certificate on the basis of her husband's social status, her appointment order nowhere indicates a post reserved for NT(B) or a reserved category, and the record shows the Zilla Parishad never called upon her to tender a Validity Certificate until her superannuation.

Ratio / Principle

Nothing turns on the untraceable Government Resolution: there is no mention in the Petitioner's service book that she was included in any reserved category when appointed; and even assuming her Open Category social status applied after 1996, she still worked 29 years from the Open Category and received no service benefits available to a Reserved Category on the strength of her husband's NT(B) status.

Key takeaways

Notwithstanding the Zilla Parishad's strenuous opposition and prayer for dismissal, the Petitioner is supported by the view taken by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in R. Sundaram vs. Tamil Nadu State Level Scrutiny Committee & Ors. and by the Nagpur Bench judgment in Writ Petition No.2904 of 2022 (Hemant s/o. Govindrao Langhe vs. Deputy Director & Anr.), and considering the above, the Petition is allowed.ratio¶45
Directions on pension: the Zilla Parishad shall forward the Petitioner's pensionary-benefits proposal to the appropriate authority within 30 days; the concerned authority/State shall clear the proposal, concluding that the Petitioner is entitled to pensionary benefits, within a further 45 days; payment of pension shall commence and all arrears shall be paid within 45 days from the formal approving order of the State.ratio¶46

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ Petition allowed — Bombay High Court (Ghuge & Mantri, JJ.), 26-03-2026 (W.P. No.15309 of 2025). The Petitioner, retired primary teacher (superannuated 31-08-2025) of 'Kumavat Kshtriya' caste (Open Category) derived from her biological father, was appointed Assistant Teacher by the Zilla Parishad on 28-09-1992 after marriage to Shrikant Bhika Pardeshi ('Hindu Beldar', NT(B)) on the presumption that she belonged to the reserved NT(B) category. Serving 33 years, she never claimed a caste Validity Certificate, received no reserved-category promotion or service benefit, and her service book recorded no reserved category; the Zilla Parishad never demanded a Validity Certificate until superannuation. Finding no deceit, misrepresentation or fraud, and holding that nothing turned on the untraceable Government Resolution permitting married women to claim reservation through the husband's caste (benefits withdrawn 1996), the Court — supported by R. Sundaram (Supreme Court) and Hemant s/o. Govindrao Langhe (Nagpur Bench, W.P. 2904/2022) — allowed the Petition: pension proposal to be forwarded within 30 days, approved within a further 45 days, pension and arrears paid within 45 days thereafter; default attracts 6% per annum interest recoverable from the responsible officer. Rule made absolute.