The Petitioner challenged an Order by the Education Officer that approved his appointment as Shikshan Sevak from the date of appointment (5th July 2012) but restricted salary grant only from the approval date (28th December 2018). The Petitioner argued that once approval was granted from the appointment date, excluding salary grant for the intervening period was unjustified. The Respondents contended that an indemnity bond executed by the school management obligated them to pay salary till approval date. The Court held that retrospective approval must include salary grant from the appointment date, and the indemnity bond could not override this principle. The Court allowed the Petition and directed the Education Officer to grant salary aid from the date of appointment.
The High Court of Judicature at Bombay Circuit Bench at Kolhapur heard a Writ Petition challenging the Order dated 28th December 2018 issued by the Education Officer -- The Order granted approval to the Petitioner's appointment as Shikshan Sevak from the date of appointment but restricted grant-in-aid for salary only from the date of approval -- The Court examined whether such exclusion of salary grant for the period between appointment date and approval date was permissible under law -- The Court held that once approval is granted from the date of appointment, the salary grant must also be provided from that same date -- The Court directed the Education Officer to release salary grant for the Petitioner from the date of his appointment as Assistant Teacher -- The Court rejected the argument based on indemnity bond executed by school management, holding it could not override the statutory approval obligations
The Court allowed the Writ Petition and directed the Education Officer to grant salary aid to the Petitioner from the date of his appointment as Assistant Teacher, setting aside the condition restricting salary grant only from the approval date
Citation: 2026 LawText (BOM) (01) 144
Case Number: Writ Petition No. 2556 of 2020
Date of Decision: 2026-01-28
Case Title: The Issue of whether the Education Officer could grant approval to the Petitioner's appointment from the date of appointment while restricting the salary grant only from the date of approval
Before Judge: R.G. Avachat J. , Ajit B. Kadethankar J.
Equivalent Citations: 2026:BHC-KOL:648-DB
Advocate(s): Mr. Prashant Bhavake, Ms. T.J. Kapre, Mr. Utkarsh Desai
Appellant: Shri Dinkar Ananda Patil
Respondent: The State of Maharashtra, The Commissioner of Education, The Director of Education, The Deputy Director of Education, The Education Officer, Shikshan Prasarak Mandal, Janata Vidyalaya
Nature of Litigation: Writ Petition challenging administrative order restricting salary grant
Remedy Sought: Petitioner sought direction to Education Officer to provide salary grant from date of appointment rather than from date of approval
Filing Reason: Education Officer's Order dated 28th December 2018 approved appointment from date of appointment but restricted salary grant only from approval date
Previous Decisions: Education Officer granted approval to Petitioner's appointment as Shikshan Sevak on 28th December 2018, approved appointment as Assistant Teacher on 29th May 2019
Issues: Whether the Education Officer could validly grant approval to the Petitioner's appointment from the date of appointment while restricting the salary grant only from the date of approval Whether the indemnity bond executed by the school management could justify the exclusion of salary grant for the period between appointment and approval
Submissions/Arguments: Petitioner argued that once approval was granted from appointment date, excluding salary grant for intervening period was impermissible Respondents argued that indemnity bond executed by school management obligated them to pay salary till approval date and granting salary grant from appointment date would cause loss to public exchequer School management supported Petitioner, arguing indemnity bond was executed under duress and served no purpose once approval was granted
Ratio Decidendi: Once approval is granted to an appointment from the date of appointment, the salary grant must also be provided from that same date; an indemnity bond executed by the school management cannot override this principle when the appointment has been duly approved
Judgment Excerpts: The challenge in the present Petition is to the Order dated 28th December 2018 issued by the Respondent No.5-the Education Officer, whereby despite granting approval to the Petitioner's appointment from the date of appointment, grant-in-aid is ordered only from the date of approval It is absolutely not disputed that the Petitioner was appointed on the subject post after following due process of law Once the Education Officer has approved Petitioner's services from the date of his appointment, the exclusion of certain period i.e. from the date of appointment till date of approval for grant-in-aid is not at all permissible nor could be justified
Procedural History: Petitioner appointed as Shikshan Sevak on 5th July 2012 -- School management moved proposal for approval -- Education Officer granted approval on 28th December 2018 with conditions restricting salary grant -- Petitioner confirmed as Assistant Teacher on 29th May 2019 -- Petitioner filed Writ Petition No. 2556 of 2020 challenging the conditions -- High Court heard final arguments and disposed of Petition
