Umesh Raghunath Bamane v. State of Maharashtra

6. The Head Master/Mistress Emanuel English School, Near Zilla Parishad, Sangli-Miraj road, Sangli 7. State of Maharashtra through Principal Secretary Department of Finance Mantralaya, Mumbai ….Respondents Mr. Chetan Patil i/b. Mr. M.G. Bagkar, Advocate for the Petitioner. Mr. V.G. Badgujar, AGP for the Respondent Nos.1 to 4 and 7. CORAM : RAVINDRA V. GHUGE & ASHWIN D. BHOBE, JJ. DATE : 22nd APRIL, 2025

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

2. The Petitioner has put forth prayer clause (a[1]), (a[2]) and (a[3]), as under: “a[1]. That this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of writ, thereby quashing and setting aside the impugned communication dated 15-09-2023 passed by This Judgment is modified as per Speaking to the Minutes of the order dated 05.05.2025. Respondent No. 7 herein (being Exhibit "AB" hereto) and further be pleased to direct Respondent no. 7 herein to sanction the post on which the Petitioner is appointed and further grant approval to the appointment of the petitioner on the post of Part-time. Librarian since the date of his appointment i.e. 15-07- 1999. a[2]. That this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, thereby directing the Respondent No.3 herein to enter the name of the Petitioner in the Shalarth Pranali and issue Shalarth Identity to the Petitioner and further directing the Respondent No.1,2,3,[4] and 7 to release grant in aid for the payment of salary / monthly honorarium to the Petitioner since the date of his appointment i.e. 15-07-1999, with all consequential benefits. a[3]. That this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, thereby directing the Respondent authorities to upgrade the Petitioner from the post of Part Time Librarian to the post of Full Time Librarian in any aided school in the District of Sangli.”

3. The learned AGP has submitted on instructions from Shri. Vishal Lohar, Desk Officer, present in Court that, no doubt, the Government may have got a little delayed in creation of a post of full-time Librarian, the matter is being actively considered by the Finance Department and in the nearest future, the post would be sanctioned. As an when the post is sanctioned, the same would be allocated to the Petitioner considering the peculiar facts and This Judgment is modified as per Speaking to the Minutes of the order dated 05.05.2025. circumstances of this case and thereafter, he would be granted all monetary benefits as is permissible in law.

4. Since the peculiar facts of this case need a reference, we are adverting to the dates and sequence of events as under: (a) It is undisputed that the Petitioner is a Polio affected person and is disabled (Person with Disability), beyond 40%. (b) On 06.08.1999, the Petitioner was appointed as a parttime Librarian after having succeeded as the best candidate in the interviews held on 03.07.1999, by the Respondent No.5 Education Society.

(c) In an Appeal bearing no.174-175 of 1999, the Hon’ble

Supreme Court delivered orders on 26.07.2000 and 29.08.2001, concluding that grant of aid will cover not only primary school, but also a secondary school with regard to the Respondent Minority Institution.

(d) Despite the severe disability, the Petitioner has acquired the educational qualification of BSc and Master of Library Science with the Master’s Degree in Library Information Science. This Judgment is modified as per Speaking to the Minutes of the order dated 05.05.2025. (e) The aspect of disability has not been disputed in the last 26 years of the Petitioner’s employment and is not disputed even now.

5. As long ago as on 18.10.2004, the Education Officer (Secondary), Zilla Parishad Sangli, conveyed to the Deputy Director of Education, Kolhapur Division, that after the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 29.08.2001, the Respondent Institution, more particularly, the English School has become grant-in-aid. The Petitioner is a part-time permanent Librarian. By oversight, the post was not converted into full-time. The strength of the students has consistently been above 500 since 1999-2000. Hence, he has categorically expressed a view that the said post be converted into a full-time Librarian’s post w.e.f. 1999.

6. The Special Executive Officer, from the Office of the Minister of State for School Education, Women and Child Development, issued a communication dated 15.09.2020 addressed to the Commissioner School Education Division, Maharashtra State, Pune that the sanction for a full-time post of Librarian was not granted out of oversight though the said post is to be approved considering the communication dated 18.04.2004, w.e.f. 1999. This Judgment is modified as per Speaking to the Minutes of the order dated 05.05.2025. Hence, the Petitioner, who is a PwD, was wrongfully deprived of the benefits since 2004. He has, therefore, called upon the Commissioner School Education to grant approval to the part-time post of Librarian, forthwith.

7. The Finance Department furnished a submission dated 15.09.2023, wherein, at clause 4, the issue pertaining to the Respondent School has been discussed and it is categorically accepted that the part-time post ought to have been included in the staffing pattern in view of the communication of the Education Officer Secondary, dated 29.07.2002. A fresh proposal for granting approval to the part-time post has also been tendered on 18.02.2006. The submission, therefore, mentions that the Petitioner should be granted approval as a part-time Librarian since 1999.

8. The Desk Expenditure Section has now raised objections as to whether the advertisement was published in 1999 when the Petitioner was selected and appointed, whether the no objection of the State Government was taken at the relevant time, whether there was an approval to the appointment and whether there was an approved staffing pattern. The second query is that the GR dated 28.06.1994, based on the report of the Chiplunkar Committee This Judgment is modified as per Speaking to the Minutes of the order dated 05.05.2025. with regard to the creation of posts of part-time Librarians, was followed or not while approving the staffing pattern. The next suggestion is that the case of the Petitioner should be scrutinised. Seven Officers have signed below the said submission.

9. Though this Petition is pending for the last 7 years and an affidavit-in-reply has not been filed by the State, the learned AGP has tendered a compilation of (10 pages). The same is marked collectively as ‘X’ for identification.

10. The learned AGP draws our attention to the communication dated 27th March, 2025 addressed by Shri. Sampat Suryavanshi, Director of Education, Secondary and Higher Secondary, State of Maharashtra, addressed to the Principal Secretary, School Education and Sports Division, Mantralaya, Mumbai, which indicates that a proper advertisement was published in a largely circulated newspaper, Dainik Kesari, pursuant to which the Petitioner participated in the selection process and was selected. The post of part-time Librarian has been created in the light of the number of the strength of the students being beyond 500 as on 28.06.1999. This Judgment is modified as per Speaking to the Minutes of the order dated 05.05.2025.

11. It is further mentioned that when the Petitioner was appointed, the strength of the school was always above 500 and a permanent part-time post of Librarian deserved to be approved considering the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court dated 29.08.2001. The Petitioner should have been approved as a parttime Librarian in 1999, which was not done out of oversight. It is also clarified in the said communication that, except for this one case of the Petitioner, there is no other case of similar nature pending with the department.