SHRIKANT GOVINDRAO SUKTE AND ORSversusPANCHAYAT SAMITI DAHANU THRU BLOCK EDUCATION OFFICER AND ORS

                                                          WP-331-2023.DOC



           IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                   CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

                     WRIT PETITION NO. 331 OF 2023

1. Shrikant Govindrao Sukte
Age: 35 yrs, Occ: Teacher,
R/o. B-5, 102, Sai Garden Residency,
Charoti, Tq. Dahanu, Dist. Palghar.

2. Madhukar Tukaram Chavan
Age: 40 yrs Occ: Teacher,
R/o. Suresh Gagonde Chawal, Room No.1
Kasa, Dongriwada, Tq. Dahanu,
Dist. Palghar.

3. Jaywant Tukaram Gandhkwad,
Age: 40 yrs Occ: Teacher,
R/o. Dahanu Kil, Tq. Dahanu,
Dist. Palghar.                                       ...Petitioners

       Versus

1. Panchayat Samiti Dahanu,
Through Block Education Officer,
Agar Road, Parnaka, Tq. Dahanu
Dist. Palghar – 401601
[email protected]
02528-222387

2. Zilla Parishad, Palghar,
Through its Chief Executive Officer,
New Administrative Building,
Ground floor, Room No.11, Navnagar,
Kolgaon, Boisar Road,
Tal. & Dist. Palghar
[email protected]
Phone 02525-25515

3. The Commissioner
Education, Maharashtra State,
Central Building,
Dr. Annie Besant Road, Pune – 411001
[email protected]
020-26120141


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4. State of the Maharashtra,
Through its Principal Secretary,
Department of School Education and Sport,
Mantralaya, Mumbai
[email protected]                                   ...Respondents
                                  _______
Mr. Vinod P. Sangvikar a/w Ms. Sanika R. Said, Mr. Abhishek Solunke i/b Ms.
Shakuntala V. Sangvikar for Petitioner.

Mr. Ashok Kotangale a/w Mr. Suresh Kabra for Respondent Nos.1 & 2.
Ms. Nisha Mehra, AGP for Respondent Nos.3 & 4 – State.
                                      _______
                            CORAM           :    G. S. KULKARNI &
                                                 DR. NEELA GOKHALE, JJ.
                     RESERVED ON            :    17th AUGUST 2026
                  PRONOUNCED ON :                20th AUGUST 2026
JUDGMENT: (Per DR. NEELA GOKHALE, J.)

1.      By this petition, the Petitioners seek an appropriate writ directing the

Respondent Nos. 1 to 4 to forthwith pay their salaries from July 2022 till the filing

of the present petition with all consequential benefits of interest, etc. The

Petitioners seek to quash and set aside order dated 25th July 2022 passed by the

Respondent No.1, directing the Headmaster/Teachers to stop the Petitioners’

salaries.

2.      The Petitioners are stated to be working as primary teachers in a school run

by the Respondent No.1. The Respondent Nos. 2 and 3 are the various authorities

of the Respondent No.4-State of Maharashtra.

3.      By letter dated 21st July 2022 issued by the Chief Executive Officer of the

Respondent No.2 to the Education Officer of Zilla Parishad (“ZP”), it was directed

that the salaries of teachers, who have not registered or opened an account in




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National Pension Scheme (“NPS”), shall be withheld. Pursuant to this direction,

the Respondent No.1 issued a letter dated 25th July 2022, directing the

Headmaster/Teachers to withhold the salary of such teachers.

4.     The Petitioners made representations before the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2

requesting that the NPS may not be made mandatory and for this reason, their

salaries should not be stopped. Ignoring the representations made by the

Petitioners, their salaries were withheld from July 2022. Further, the Chief Finance

Officer of the ZP directed action against those who did not consent for the NPS.

Ultimately, the Petitioners’ salaries were stopped without any notice as they did not

consent to contribute towards NPS.

5.     Heard Mr. Vinod Sangvikar, learned counsel for the Petitioners, Mr. Ashok

Kotangale, learned counsel for the Respondent Nos. 1 and 2 and Ms. Nisha Mehra,

learned AGP for the Respondent Nos. 3 and 4 - State.

6.     We have perused the Government Order dated 19th September 2019,

applying NPS for all the teaching and non-teaching staff of government schools

and government aided private schools. The said Order nowhere provides for

compulsory and mandatory application of NPS to teachers of such schools. The

same is clearly at the option of the teachers. Further, there is no provisions in the

Government Order providing for withholding the salaries of teachers or staff who

have refused to the application of the NPS.

7.     In fact, by letter dated 22nd December 2021, the Commissioner of

Education of the State Government had conveyed to all the concerned authorities

that no teacher or staff is to be forced to close the General Provident Fund (“ GPF”)



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accounts and open an NPS account. It was further directed that the salaries of such

teachers shall not be withheld or deducted. Despite the said communication, the

Regional Education Officer proceeded to direct that the salaries of teachers refusing

to switch to NPS shall be withheld. Accordingly, the Petitioners’ salaries were

withheld from July 2022 till the date on which the present writ petition was filed.

8.     Mr. Sangvikar fairly conceded that after receiving notice of the present

petition, the authorities have disbursed the Petitioners’ salaries, however, 10% of

the salaries has been deducted and credited in their NPS accounts, which the

Petitioners were coerced into opening.

9.     At the outset, the entire action of the Respondents is deprecated. Article 21

of the Constitution of India guarantees the right to livelihood as an integral part of

right to life, and as such, it cannot be subjected to individual fancies of the persons

in authority. The management having availed of the Petitioners’ services cannot be

permitted to decline salaries to them. This is nothing but exploitation amounting

to depriving a person of his/her right to livelihood. Hence, the act of the

management in withholding the salaries of the Petitioners for the period in which

they discharged their duty is unacceptable. What is also striking the most is that the

authorities have even ignored and disregarded the instructions issued by the

Commissioner of Education, directing that salaries of teachers refusing to open an

NPS account shall not be withheld. This is nothing but an arbitrary exercise of

power by the authorities.

10.    Considering that a part of the salaries have been disbursed to the Petitioners

post filing of the present petition, we direct the Respondents concerned to disburse



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                       the outstanding salaries to the Petitioners within a period of ten days from the date

                       of uploading of the present order.

                       11.    Undeniably, the Petitioners must have suffered considerable hardship on

                       account of not having received their monthly salaries from July 2022, till the filing

                       of the present writ petition, only because of the high handedness of the

                       Respondents. For withholding the salaries of the Petitioners for such long years,

                       while continuing to accept their services, we direct the Respondents concerned to

                       pay 12% interest to the Petitioners on the amounts withheld from July 2022, till

                       the date on which the payments were made. The authorities are at liberty to recover

                       the amount of the interest from the salaries of the concerned officer/s who directed

                       and permitted the withholding of the Petitioners’ salaries.

                       12.    In view of the aforesaid, the writ petition is allowed. No costs.




                       (DR. NEELA GOKHALE, J)                                   (G. S. KULKARNI, J.)




          Digitally
          signed by
          AJIT
AJIT      RAMESH
RAMESH    PATHRIKAR
PATHRIKAR Date:
          2026.08.20
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