2024:BHC-AS:45915-DB IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 16128 OF 2024

1) Smt. Pooja Yogesh Singh Aged 34 Yrs, Occ. Service, R/o. Room No. 12, F/15, Deonar Municipal Colony, Govandi(W), Shivaji Nagar, Mumbai – 400 043.

2) Shanti Shikshan Prachar Mandal, Kalyan, Dist. Thane, Through its Chairman/Secretary. … Petitioners Versus

1) The State of Maharashtra, Through the Secretary, School Education Department, Mantralaya, Mumbai -400 032.

2) The Deputy Director of Education, Mumbai Region, Mumbai.

3) The Education Officer (Secondary), Zilla Parishad, Thane. … Respondents.

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Mr. Narendra V. Bandiwadekar a/w. Mr. Vinayak R. Kumbhar, Mr. Rajendra B. Khaire, Mr. Aniket Phapale i/b. Ashwini N.

Bandiwadekar, for the Petitioners.

Ms. S.S. Bhende, AGP for Respondent/State.

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

RESERVED ON : 18th NOVEMBER, 2024 PRONOUNCED ON : 29th NOVEMBER, 2024 JUDGMENT (PER ASHWIN D. BHOBE, J) :

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith and heard finally with the consent of the parties.

2. The present petition is at the instance of the Petitioner No. 1 a Shikshan Sevak and the Petitioner No.2 Management. By the present petition, Petitioners challenge the impugned order dated 25/11/2022 passed by Respondent No. 3 (at Exh. H), refusing to grant approval, to the appointment of Petitioner No. 1, as Shikshan Sevak in the aided school of Petitioner No. 2 (“impugned order”).

Petitioners seek the following substantive reliefs :

“a] Rule Nisi be issued and records and proceedings be called for.

b] By a suitable writ, order or direction, this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to quash and set aside the impugned order dated 25.11.2022 issued by the Respondent No. 3, and accordingly the Respondent No. 3 may be directed to grant approval to the appointment of the Petitioner No. 1 as a Shikshan Sevak in the aided Secondary School of the Petitioner No. 2 Management w.e.f. 1.7.2022 for a period of 3 years, and to release the grant-in-aid for payment of monthly honorarium to the Petitioner No. 1 for the said period of 3 years.

c] By a suitable writ, order or direction, this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to direct the Respondent No. 2 to grant permission to enter the name of the Petitioner No. 1 in Shalartha Pranali and to allot the Shalartha I.D. to the Petitioner No. 1 as a Shikshan Sevak in the aided secondary school of the Petitioner No. 2 Management, with all consequential benefits”

Case of the Petitioners:

3. The case of the Petitioners as set out in the Petition, interalia, is that:- Petitioner No. 1 belongs to open category; Petitioner No. 1 completed education in the stream Bachelor of Arts (English) and B.Ed. (Eng/History); Petitioner No. 2 is a linguistic (Hindi) Minority Educational Institute and is registered under the Maharashtra Public Trust Act 1950 and Societies Registration Act, 1860, thus Petitioner No. 2 has the status of minority educational institution within the meaning of Section 2(g) of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institution Act 2004; Petitioner No. 2 has 3 schools, out of which two are primary schools and one is secondary school; all the said three schools are receiving 100% grant in aid from the State Government; the appointment of Petitioner No. 1 is made in the secondary school by name Shanti Hindi High School at Shivaji Nagar, Valdhuni Kalyan, Thane having classes of standard 8 to 10 (said school); the service conditions of the teaching and non-teaching employees working in the said school are governed by the provisions of Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Rules) Regulation Act 1977 (MEPS Act) and the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1981 (MEPS Rules); one permanent and approved teacher working in the said school by name Smt. Sadhana Raman Hushe, was to retire on attaining the age of superannuation with effect from 28/02/2022 and therefore, sanctioned post of the teacher was to fal