SUBURABAN EDUCATION SOCIETY Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. Heard learned counsel appearing for the respective parties finally, by consent.

(2.) The petitioner No.1 is the society and petitioner No.2 is the school run under the management of petitioner No.1. They are challenging the Government Resolution dtd. 11/12/2020 whereby respondent No.1 fixed the staffing pattern of Class-IV employees under secondary and higher secondary schools run under the State of Maharashtra. As per the said Government Resolution dtd. 11/12/2020 contractual employees are to be appointed to perform the work of Class-IV employees in place of regular appointed Class-IV employees and respondent No.1 will grant peon allowance to the schools for such contractually appointed employees. The said Government Resolution abolishes the sanctioned and regular posts of Class-IV employees, but while making a provision for contractual employees, providing for a meager peon allowance and changing the ratio of number of students to the number of Class-IV employees is said to be detrimental to the interest of the schools and students. Further, it is also contrary to the provisions of Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 as the regular employee would get salary as per the pay-scale and the contractual employee doing the equal work will not get equal pay and therefore, it is violative of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. It is also said that the said Government Resolution is contrary to the provisions under the Secondary School Code, Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of service) Act, 1977 (for short "MEPS Act") and Rules framed thereunder of 1981 as well as contrary to Maharashtra Primary Education Act, 1949. The said Government Resolution is totally a departure from the earlier staffing pattern of Class-IV employees provided under the previous Government Resolutions which have proved to the test of time till today. The petitioners are praying that the earlier Government Resolution dtd. 28/6/1994 under which, on the basis of Chiplunkar Committee, regular pay scales are provided under the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Regulation Rules, 1981 (for short "MEPS Rules") with amendments from time to time be implemented as before. The petitioners have quoted the data of the students from their school from the academic year 2017-2018 on-wards and submits that in all eight posts of non-teaching employees were sanctioned to petitioner No.2 school.

(3.) It is also the case of the petitioners that one Smt. Kokilabai Wani, who is the widow, was working as Class-IV employee out of the four employees, on admissible post since 2000 on temporary basis. She was appointed on sanctioned post on 1/8/2017 for the probation period of three years. Thereafter petitioner No.2 submitted proposal for the approval of her appointment on the said post, however it was rejected by the Education Officer (Secondary), Zilla Parishad, Aurangabad. The said employee Smt. Wani had then approached this Court by filing Writ Petition No.2820 of 2020. As per the orders passed by this Court on 17/2/2020, the Education Officer processed the proposal and the Deputy Director of Education condoned over age of the said employee and the said proposal was to be decided on the lines of the Judgment in the case of Ravindra Ghansing Sonwane vs. State of Maharashtra, decided on 11/2/2019 in Writ Petition No.2906 of 2018. However, by referring to the Government Resolution dtd. 11/12/2020, the Education Officer rejected the proposal of Smt. Wani by order dtd. 3/2/2021.