MAHADEO DATTATRAYA BHOSALE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A teacher in government service struggles for seven years to retire from that post. His application for voluntary retirement is of 2016. The present record paints before us an utterly dismal picture and of a complete failure of even a minimal regard to procedural due process, by which we mean non-arbitrariness and fairness in administrative action. It is true that the factual background has had many twists and turns, but these should not blind us to essential facts. It is not as if this Petitioner mischievously or fraudulently sought to retire under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme ("VRS").

(2.) The Petitioner holds a D.Ed., a B.A. and B.Ed. in English. On 26/9/1995, he was appointed as a teacher at Khed Bhose following the criteria prescribed by the Zilla Parishad, Solapur. In 2001, he was transferred to the Zilla Parishad School in Malshiras, Bhamb Taluka, District Solapur. Two years later, in 2003 he was transferred to the Zilla Parishad School at Hanuman Nagar, Kacharewadi and in 2006 to the Adarsh Kanyashala in Malshiras. In 2011, he was promoted to the post of a graduate teacher at the Zilla Parishad School in Karande. He had thus worked for a total of 21 years and, he says, there was no blemish on his record until then.

(3.) While he was an Assistant Teacher at Hanuman Nagar, the Petitioner's mother was detected with a gastric medical issue. She was admitted to hospital in Pune for treatment. There, it was found that she was suffering from cancer. Treatment began in 2004. The Petitioner bore the expenses of this medical treatment, and the costs were significant: about Rs.1,15,160.00 according to the Petitioner. The Petitioner submitted the medical bills for this treatment to the Education Officer through the authorities concerned, seeking reimbursement. That claim for reimbursement was partly allowed to the amount of Rs.94,494.00. The claim was supported by medical bills and was submitted following the prescribed procedure and in accordance with the Rules.