HC Orders Release of Salaries for Shalarth Teachers, Pulls Up State

Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra govt to release pending salaries of over 600 teachers and non-teaching staff linked to the Shalarth ID controversy, holding that wages cannot be withheld without due process or prior notice.Hearing a batch of petitions, a division bench comprising Justices Mukulika Jawalkar and Nandesh Deshpande observed: "The state may question the legality of appointments, but salaries cannot be stopped without issuing notice and without following due procedure, particularly when no criminal cases have been registered against the petitioners". The court partially allowed the petitions, granting immediate relief while allowing the state to continue its inquiry. Counsels Anand Parchure, Ram Parsodkar and Kalpana Pathak represented the petitioners, while Sangita Jachak appeared for the state.The issue traces back to February 2025, when alleged bogus Shalarth IDs came to light, prompting the state to initiate a thorough probe into appointments made during that period. Subsequently, salaries of the concerned teachers were halted from March 2025, leading to widespread litigation before the Nagpur bench.In its affidavit, filed through the deputy director of education, the state argued that several appointments were not made as per statutory norms and that the Shalarth IDs generated on that basis were invalid. It maintained that "no right to govt salary arises from illegal appointments" and emphasised its duty to safeguard public funds.The court, however, noted procedural lapses in the govt's action, pointing out that affected employees were neither issued notices nor given an opportunity to respond before their salaries were stopped. It stressed that administrative decisions must adhere to principles of natural justice.Balancing the competing claims, the bench ordered that salaries from March 2025 be disbursed, while allowing the state to continue verification of documents and recruitment processes. It further ruled that if any individual is later found guilty, "the amount paid can be recovered from the concerned school management and responsible education department officials."The court also noted that several similar petitions are pending and are expected to be decided shortly.
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