Bombay HC Takes Suo Motu Cognisance Of 300 Maharashtra Colleges Drawing Staff Salaries Despite Having No Students

Mumbai: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the fact that there were around 300 colleges across Maharashtra which did not have a single student but yet their staff are getting paid hefty salaries.

The bench of Justices Nitin Sambre and Sachin Deshmukh expressed shock and noted: “The news item speaks of 300 colleges in Maharashtra are getting grants towards salary of the staff, however not a single student has taken admission in it.”

The news titled ‘No Students in 300 Maha Colleges, but staff pocket crores in salaries’ appeared in a local newspaper. “The aforesaid shocking revelation through the news item not only speaks of the wastage of the public money but also the mismanagement of the educational institutions by the Managements," the bench said on July 15.

The judges noted that if the Management is not getting sufficient number of students in their institutions, the Statute provides for dealing with such situation and the staff of such institutions can be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Regulation Act, 1981, Secondary School Code so also the Right to Education Act, 2009.

“We need to have the entire information before the Court and the remedial measures taken by the State Government. The aforesaid fact of 300 Maharashtra Junior Colleges not getting a single student but the staff are being paid is admitted even at the State Government level as can be inferred from the news item,” the judges made it clear.

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The bench then appointed advocate Rahul Ghuge as the amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist in the matter. The court has asked him to prepare a proper petition on the issue. The HC has kept the matter for hearing on August 4.