An employee cannot be reverted to a post they never held, and failure to provide a show-cause notice constitutes a breach of natural justice.

JUDGMENT :

N.M. JAMDAR, J.

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Respondents waive service. Taken up for disposal.

2. The Petitioner has challenged the action of the Respondent- employer in reverting and reducing the Petitioner in rank from the post of Principal to the post of Mathematics Instructor. Petitioner has sought a direction to the Respondent-employer to reinstate the Petitioner on the post of Principal with all consequential benefits.

3. The Respondent No. 1 is the State of Maharashtra. Respondent No. 2 is the Director of Vocational Education and Training Institute. Respondent No. 3 is the Joint Director of Vocational Education and Training, and Respondent No. 4 - the Education Society, is the employer of the Petitioner.

4. Respondent No. 4 - Education institute is registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950 and Societies Registration Act, 1960. It operates several educational units, including the Industrial Training Institute at Jaysingpur. The permission is granted to Respondent No. 4 - Education Society to run the Industrial Training Institute on an unaided basis.

5. On 1 February 2008, Respondent No. 4 published an advertisement in the newspaper inviting applications for the post of Principal to be filled in at the Jaysingpur Industrial Training Institute. The advertisement stipulated the educational qualifications per All India Council for Technical Education norms. The Petitioner applied for the post of Principal. An interview was conducted. Petitioner was selected and was appointed by order dated 25 November 2008 with effect from 1 December 2008 as a Principal on probation. In the meeting held on 9 January 2010 of the Managing Council of Respondent No. 4, a resolution was passed to confirm the Petitioner’s probation period after the expiry of one year. Accordingly, the Petitioner was confirmed as a permanent employee from 1 December 2009. After that, the Petitioner continued to work with the Respondent No. 4.

6. On 30 May 2019, the Managing Committee of Respondent No. 4 passed a resolution that Petitioner be reverted with effect from 1 June 2019 from the post of Principal of Industrial Technical Institute and be posted as a Mathematics Instructor for administrative convenience. Pursuant to this resolution, Respondent No. 4 passed an order on 31 May 2019 reverting/reducing the Petitioner in rank from the post of Principal to Mathematics Instructor.

7. Challenging the order dated 31 May 2019 of reverting/reducing the Petitioner in rank, the Petitioner has filed the present Petition praying for the following reliefs:

“(b) By a suitable writ, order or direction, this Hon’ble Court be pleased to quash and set aside the impugned order dated 31.5.2019 (Exhibit-E) issued by the Respondent No. 4, thereby reverting/reducing in rank the Petitioner from the post of Principal of Jaysingpur Industrial Training Institute, Jaysingpur, Tal. Shirol, Dist. Kolhapur w.e.f. 1.6.2019 and accordingly the Respondent No. 4 may be directed to forthwith reinstate the Petitioner in the said post of Principal with all consequential benefits such as continuity of service, payment of full back wages from the date of the impugned order till the reinstatement in the said post, etc.

(d) By a suitable writ, order or direction, this Hon’ble Court be pleased to direct the Respondent No. 4 to pay to the Petitioner the salary and allowances in the post of Principal of its Jaysingpur Industrial Training Institute, Jaysingpur, Tal. Shirol, Dist. Kolhapur in accordance with the pay scale prescribed for the said post by the DGET, New Delhi and the Respondent No. 1, and accordingly to pay all the differential amount to the Petitioner from 1.12.2008 after deducting the amount paid to the Petitioner from the said date till today.”

8. Reply affidavit is filed on behalf of Respondent No. 4. No reply is filed by Respondent Nos. 1 to 3.

9. We have heard Mr. Narendra Bandiwadekar, the learned Senior Advocate appearing for the Petitioner, Mr. B.V. Samant, Additio