Sangita Motiram Patil and Ors. v. the State of Maharashtra Thr. the Secretary School Education Department and Ors.
Case brief
What is this about?
Cancellation of approval and Shalarth-ID of unaided-appointed assistant teachers later transferred to aided establishment; vague show-cause notice; mass hearing of 150 employees in one day via cyclostyled forms termed farce/eye-wash; delay of 7-8 months and cryptic analysis showing lack of application of mind; TET qualification and reservation roster breaches treated as condonable irregularities of Management; no fraud or misrepresentation found; erroneous approval cannot be recalled absent fraud — Shivanee Prasanna Deshpande and Pramod Prabhakar Pokhale followed; Brindavan Beverages relied on; approvals and Shalarth-IDs restored with salaries; Bombay High Court, Writ Petition Nos. 3839-3841 of 2026, decided 27 March 2026.
What did the court decide?
The three Writ Petitions are partly allowed; the impugned orders cancelling approval are quashed and set aside. The approval orders and Shalarth-IDs of the petitioner teachers are restored, and they shall be entitled to their salaries as they have been working without a break in service. The authorities are at liberty to issue fresh show-cause notices mentioning specific grounds, confined towards indicating fraud or misrepresentation against teachers; issues touching irregularity can be confronted only with the Management, which may be penalised or made to deposit a heavy cost in the State Exchequer. Rule is made partly absolute in the above terms.