Non-bailable warrants against the secretary and upper secretary of the Maharashtra government’s education department were issued by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court for not complying with the court’s orders pertaining to the payment of salaries and arrears of teachers.
A division bench of Justices Prithviraj Chavan and Urmila Joshi-Phalke on Wednesday heard a petition filed by Chitra Mehar, seeking action for contempt of court against the officials for not complying with its orders.
Lawyer Anand Parchure, representing Ms. Mehar in the matter, informed the court that the teachers appointed by the Maharashtra government to teach children with disabilities were not being paid salaries as per the pay scale for ‘skilled teachers’.
In 2018, a few teachers including Ms. Mehar moved the HC, seeking the payment of salaries as per the aforesaid pay scale. Despite court directives in 2022 to pay the petitioners ₹2.13 crore and clear other outstanding amounts, no payments were made, prompting a contempt petition by the teachers.
As a result, the court ordered the appearance of the education department secretary, Ranjit Singh Deol, and upper secretary, Santosh Gaikwad, on November 1, but their absence and lack of a satisfactory explanation led to the issuance of non-bailable warrants.
“In the aforesaid circumstances, we are left with no option than to issue non-bailable warrants against Ranjit Singh Deol, Secretary of the Government of Maharashtra, School Education and Sports Department, and Santosh Gaikwad, Upper Secretary of the Government of Maharashtra, School Education and Sports Department, Mumbai,” the HC said in its order.
The Nagpur police commissioner was directed to execute the warrants and present the officials in court by November 6.
