DR. KRISHNA GANESH WADIKARversusTHE SECRETARY ALL INDIA SHRI SHIVAJI MEMORIAL SOC AND ORS

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     IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
             CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

                INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 1483 OF 2026
                                 IN
                  WRIT PETITION (ST) NO. 3044 OF 2023


IN THE MATTER OF

Dr. Kshipra Ganesh Wadikar                      …. Applicant
          Versus
The Secretary All India Shri Shivaji
Memorial Society & Anr.                         ….Respondents


                               WITH
                    WRIT PETITION NO. 3318 OF 2026


Dr. Shalaka Virkar                              ….Petitioner
          Versus
The Secretary All India Shri Shivaji
Memorial Society & Anr.                         ….Respondents

                                 ----
Mr. Vaibhav Kulkarni, for Petitioner in both matters.
Mr. P. P. Kakade, Addl. GP. a/w. Mr. V. G. Badgujar, AGP for State
in IA No. 1483 of 2026 in WP (St) No. 3044 of 2023.
Mr. P. P. Kakade, Addl. GP. a/w. Mr. V. G. Badgujar, AGP for State
in WP No. 3318 of 2026.

                                 ----

                             CORAM : RAVINDRA V. GHUGE &
                                     ABHAY J. MANTRI, JJ.
                             DATE : 2nd APRIL, 2026

P.C. :-



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1.                  Heard the learned Advocates for all the parties. For the

reasons set out herein, the Interim Application is allowed. Writ

Petition (Stamp) No. 3044 of 2023 is restored to the stage at which

it was dismissed.



2.                  Heard Writ Petition (Stamp) No. 3044 of 2023 and

3318 of 2026, by the consent of the parties.



3.                   In all these matters, the Petitioners are identically

placed. These matters pertain to a claim for salaries as per the 6 th

and 7th Pay Commission recommendations.



4.                  The record before us indicates that these Petitioners and

the Respondent Management have been in litigation for quite some

time. The history of the litigation shows that, with regard to the 6th

Pay Commission salaries, the matter reached up to the Hon’ble

Supreme Court, which delivered its judgment on 01.04.2025 in

Special Leave Petition (Civil) No(s). 7058–7061 of 2019 (The

Secretary, All India Shri Shivaji Memorial Society (AISSMS) and

Others Versus The State of Maharashtra and Others) and Special

Leave Petition (Civil) No (s). 4787 of 2025 (The Secretary, All


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India Shri Shivaji Memorial Society (AISSMS) versus Laxman

Shivaji Godse & Ors.).



5.                  By the said judgment, the Hon’ble Supreme Court

concluded that the Petitioners are entitled to the benefits arising

from the 6th Pay Commission recommendations. It was further held

that if the arrears are paid within 30 days, interest at the rate of 7.5%

per annum would be payable, and if the arrears are paid after four

weeks, interest would be calculated at the rate of 15% per annum.



6.                  Considering the above background and the fact that

similar issues have arisen between the similarly placed employees

and the same Management, we called upon the learned Advocates to

state whether they would agree to the Joint Director of Technical

Education, Pune, being directed to look into the aspect of pay

fixation and the entitlements of the Petitioners under the 6 th and 7th

Pay Commission recommendations, keeping in view their

entitlement to the 6th Pay Commission Recommendations.



7.                  Both learned Advocates submit, on instructions from

their respective clients, that the Joint Director of Technical


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Education, Pune, may be issued certain directions by this Court for

fixing the pay scales of these Petitioners in accordance with their

qualifications and positions under the 6th and 7th Pay Commission

Recommendations.



8.                  In view of the above, all these Petitions are disposed

off with the following directions :

a.        The Joint Director, Technical Education, Pune shall be the

authority who shall look into the pay fixation and the entitlement of

the Petitioners.

b.        Vide AICTE Notification dated 05.03.2010 and 01.03.2019

and       Maharashtra       Government     GR    dated   20.08.2010           and

11.09.20219, the pay scales of the teaching staff in institutes

imparting technical education has been revised from 01.01.2006 and

01.01.2016. This would be considered by him.

c.        During the pendency of these petitions, the Respondent

Institute has implemented the 7th pay commission scales. The

Petitioners however submit that arrears from 01.01.2016 have not

been paid and the computation of salary from the date of

implementation of the 7th pay commission is not proper.

d.        In so far as the arrears of salaries/dues/gratuity/retirements


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dues etc, are concerned, the Petitioners would tender individual

calculations to the Management, with a copy to the Competent

Authorities, preferably within a period of 15 days. After receiving

such charts, the Management would verify the claims of the

Employees and draw its own calculations strictly in terms of the pay

scales applicable to these Employees as per the AICTE Norms. This

exercise be completed within a period of 15 days thereafter.

e.        If there is a consensus amongst the parties, the undisputed

amounts shall be released by the management within a period ten

days, thereafter.

f.        To the extent of the disputed amounts, the authority, would

apply          its   mind   to    the    pay-scales    governing            the

Management/Institution and deliver its conclusion on the issue as

regards the disputed amounts.

g.        The authority shall apply its mind as to whether the pay scale

is applicable to a particular employee in tune with the judicial

pronouncements of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, especially by

judgment dated 01.04.2025 in SLP (C) No. 7058-7061/2019 and

order dated 13.05.2025 in Miscellaneous Diary No. 25046/2025 and

other judicial pronouncements.

h.        The parties shall be given an opportunity & the Joint Director


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is at liberty to call upon the stake holders to address him by

scheduling such hearing. The parties are at liberty to appoint legal

representatives, if desired.

i.        The authority would pass a reasoned order within a period of

thirty days from the date of conclusion of the hearing. If he comes to

the conclusion that beyond the undisputed amount paid by the

Management, some more amounts are required to be paid by the

Management, the Management be directed to make such payments

within a period of 30 days after the order of the said Authority. Copy

of such order would also be delivered to the Representative of the

Employees.

j.        All amounts, including the undisputed amounts, would carry

interest @ 7.5% p.a. if paid within a period of four weeks, failing

which the interest shall be calculated at 15% per annum, in view of

the direction of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the Judgment

between similarly placed employees and the same Management.

k.        Needless to state that after the Joint Director completes this

exercise within the period of 60 days, if either the Petitioners or the

Management is aggrieved by the pay fixation, they would be at

liberty to avail of a remedy as may be permissible in law.

l.        The Joint Director would convene the first hearing on


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15.04.2026, at 11:30 a.m at Pune. The Management and the

Petitioners would render wholehearted cooperation to the Joint

Director, and there should be no request for adjournments on

frivolous or trivial grounds. All parties would cooperate with the

Joint Director by participating in the hearings as may be posted on a

particular date.

m.        The exercise of fixation of pay scales would be completed

within 60 days, as mentioned above.

n.        If the Management finds that any litigant has been paid in

excess, or that withdrawal from the amount deposited in this Court

would result in excess payment, the Management would be at

liberty to file an Interim Application for seeking appropriate

directions in these disposed off Petitions.

o.        The Joint Director would take into account the pay fixation

already carried out in the case of these Petitioners based on the 6th

Pay Commission recommendations.



(ABHAY J. MANTRI, J.)                   (RAVINDRA V. GHUGE, J.)




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