Nachiket Ashok Pawar And Others v. The State Of Maharashtra Through Its Secretary And Others

2025:BHC-AUG:1528-DB 1 WP / 851 / 2025

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

BENCH AT AURANGABAD 986 WRIT PETITION NO. 851 OF 2025 NACHIKET ASHOK PAWAR AND OTHERS

VERSUS

THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THROUGH ITS SECRETARY AND OTHERS ...

Advocate for the petitioner : Mr. L.S. Mahajan AGP for the respondent - State : Mr. S.V. Hange ...

CORAM

: MANGESH S. PATIL & PRAFULLA S. KHUBALKAR, JJ.

DATE : 17 JANUARY 2025 PER COURT :

Petitioners are claiming one step pay scale for having served in tribal areas.

2.

This Court has been consistently directing such requests, to be considered on its own merits and for extending the benefits if the petitioners are found entitled at the end of the scrutiny. 3.

Writ petition is disposed of with following directions : (i) The impugned action of stoppage of one-step pay scale inititiated by the respondents is quashed and set aside. (ii) The Education Officer (Secondary), Zilla Parishad, Dhule - respondent no. 5 shall scrutinise the records of all these petitioners and the places, at which they are deployed for performing their duties, within a period of eight weeks.

2 WP / 851 / 2025 (iii) These cases, which do not suffer from any legal impediment after verification, shall be cleared by respondent no. 5 and the salary benefits to which they are entitled to, in the light of the one-step pay-scale made available to the employees working in the tribal and PESA areas, shall be paid, along with their arrears, as well as their current salaries, within a period of four weeks thereafter.

(iv) After scrutiny, if any of these petitioners, on the basis of their records, are found to be ineligible, respondent no. 5 would issue notices to each of such petitioners, so as to enable them to appear and address him.

(v) After such hearing, which shall be completed within four months from today, respondent no. 5 shall pass appropriate orders and grant benefits of one-step pay-scale to those candidates, who are found to be eligible.

(vi) Those petitioners, who suffer adverse orders after the above stated exercise is completed, would be at liberty to avail of a statutory remedy, as is permissible in law. [ PRAFULLA S. KHUBALKAR ] [ MANGESH S. PATIL ] JUDGE JUDGE arp/