17-WP-10006-2025.doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIRCUIT BENCH AT KOLHAPUR CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 10006 OF 2025 Vitthalpant Vamanrao Shinde ...Petitioner Versus The State Of Maharashtra Thr. The Secretary Department Of Education And Sports And Ors ...Respondents —————— Mr. Shankar Katkar i/b Ms. Manisha Devkar, for the Petitioner. Mr. Avinash Naik, AGP for the Respondent Nos. 1 to 4-State. —————— Coram : SHARMILA U. DESHMUKH & NEERAJ P. DHOTE, JJ. Date : AUGUST 19, 2026 P. C. : 1. By the present Petition, the Petitioner seeks direction to the Respondent No. 3 to rectify the order dated 28th February, 2025 to the extent of payment of salary with effect from 16th May, 2023, and seeks payment of salary from 1st June, 2015 to 31st May, 2018 as Shikshan Sevak, and from 1st June, 2018 as Assistant Teacher with all consequential benefits. 2. The facts of the case are that the Petitioner came to be appointed as Shikshan Sevak on 1st June, 2015 and as Assistant Teacher from 1st June, 2018. An application was submitted for approval to the Education Officer on 14th June, 2019, and by order dated 23rd November, 2022, Arya Chavan 1 of 4 2026:BHC-KOL:7799-DB 17-WP-10006-2025.doc Education Officer granted approval to the Petitioner's appointment. The Education Officer granted approval with effect from 1st June, 2015 for three years i.e. till 31st May, 2018. On 1st July, 2024, Respondent No. 4, Education Officer, forwarded a communication to Respondent No. 3 for inclusion of the name of the Petitioner in Shalarth ID vide order dated 28th February, 2025, the Respondent No. 3 included the name of Petitioner in Shalarth ID, however directed payment of salary from 16th May, 2023. The Respondent Nos. 5 and 6 forwarded a formal proposal for approval as Assistant Teacher. 3. By the order of 25th April, 2025, the Education Officer, Zilla Parishad Solapur, referred to the order of Deputy Director of Education dated 20th February, 2025, by which the Petitioner's name was permitted to be entered into Shalarth Pranali with effect from 16th May, 2023. The Education Officer by reason thereof directed that the salary will be paid from 16th May, 2023, while granting approval. 4. Learned counsel for the Petitioner would point out that the approval was granted to the Petitioner's appointment which was on 1st June, 2015. He submits that in view thereof, the Petitioner is entitled to salary from date of his appointment, i.e. 1st June, 2015, and not from the date when his name was entered into Shalarth Pranali on 16th May, 2023. 5. Learned AGP would submit that though the Petitioner claims to have been appointed in the year 2015, the proposal was sent only on Arya Chavan 2 of 4 17-WP-10006-2025.doc 14th June, 2019. He would further point out that on 28th February, 2025, the Petitioner's name was included into Shalarth Pranali, and direction was given by the Deputy Director of Education to make payment from 16th May, 2023, and accordingly, Education Officer, by the order of 25th April, 2025, is following the directions of the Deputy Director of Education. 6. We have perused the orders passed by the Deputy Director of Education and the Education Officer. 7. The approval was granted to the Petitioner's appointment as Shikshan Sevak by order of 23rd November, 2022, which makes a reference to the proposal submitted on 14th June, 2019. The approval has been granted after a period of almost three years by the Education Officer and considering that the proposal was sent in 2019 and approved on 23rd November, 2022, for the period from 2015 to 2022, the burden would be upon the management of the payment of the Petitioner's salary. As the proposal has been approved on 23rd November 2022, we are of the opinion that salary is required to be paid from the date of the approval, i.e. 23rd November, 2022. 8. The order of 28th February, 2025 of the Deputy Director of Education directs the payment of salary from 16th May, 2023 for the reason that the roster came to be approved on 16th May, 2023. As the approval has been granted on 23rd November, 2022, the Deputy Director Arya Chavan 3 of 4 17-WP-10006-2025.doc of Education could not have postponed the date for payment of the salary based on approval of roster. All these aspects are required to be considered at the time when the approval is granted by the Education Officer, and the Deputy Director of Education cannot by way of subsequent communication while entering the name of the Petitioner in the Shalarth Pranali postpone the date to 16th May, 2023 on the basis of the approval of the roster on the said date. The Education Officer by the order dated 25th April, 2025 has followed the direction of the Deputy Director of Education. The order of 28th February, 2025 passed by the Deputy Director of Education does not indicate any reasons as to why the direction is for payment of the salary from 16th May, 2023 and there is merely a remark that the roster is approved on 16th May, 2023, and accordingly, salary is to be paid from the said date. 9. In our opinion, as the approval was granted on 23rd November, 2022, the Petitioner is entitled to the salary from 23rd November, 2022 alongwith all consequential benefits. The impugned order dated 28th February, 2025 which directs the payment of salary with effect from 16th May, 2023 is modified and the date for payment of salary to be construed as 23rd November, 2022. 10. The Petition is allowed in the above terms. [NEERAJ P. DHOTE, J.] [SHARMILA U. DESHMUKH, J.] Arya Chavan 4 of 4