Sanjay Laxman Dighe And Others v. The State Of Maharashtra Through Its Secretary And Others
2025:BHC-AUG:35325-DB
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 13842 OF 2025 Sanjay Laxman Dighe and others
VERSUS
The State of Maharashtra through its Secretary and others Mr. E. S. Murge, Advocate for petitioners Mr. S. K. Tambe, AGP for respondent-State
CORAM
: Smt. Vibha Kankanwadi & Hiten S. Venegavkar, JJ.
DATE : 15th December, 2025 PER COURT :- 1.
In this Petition petitioner has prayed for the directions to the respondent No. 6 to give/grant the benefit of Ekstar (One step promotional pay scale) under scheme of G.R. dated 06/08/2002 and 29/02/2024 from the date of appointment of the petitioners in trial area and further direct the respondent No. 6 to pay the salary with arrears to the petitioners by adding one step pay promotional pay scale. 2.
We have considered the submissions of the learned Advocates for the respective sides and we have perused the series of orders passed by this Court in favour of similarly situated petitioners, which have been annexed to the petition.
3.
In view of the above, we do not find any such circumstances,
which would convince us to take a different view. 4.
The learned Advocates representing the respective parties in those cases (orders which have been annexed to the petition), have clearly stated that the order passed by this Court at the Principal Seat, in Writ Petition No. 8824 of 2021 (Hiralal Jagannath Bawa and others vs. The State of Maharashtra and others), dated 21.12.2021, is applicable to all such cases.
5.
In view of the above, writ petition stands allowed in the following terms:- i. The Respondent No. 6 - The Education Officer (Secondary), Zilla Parishad, Ahilyanagar, shall scrutinize the records of these Petitioners and the places at which they are deployed for performing their duties, within a period of 30 days from today, considering the Government Resolution dated 29.02.2024. ii. The cases which have no legal impediment after verification, shall be cleared by the concerned Respondent and the salary benefits, to which the Petitioners 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 to them along with arrears as well as their current salary, within a period of 30 days, thereafter. iii. After scrutiny, if the Petitioners, on the basis of their record, are found to be ineligible, the concerned Respondent, would issue notice to the Petitioners, so as to enable them to appear before the said authority and address it.
iv. After such hearing, which shall be completed within 120 days, the concerned Respondent shall pass an appropriate order and grant benefits of one-step pay-scale to those candidates, who are
found to be eligible.
v. The Petitioners, who may suffer an adverse order after the above stated exercise is completed, shall be at liberty to avail of a statutory remedy, as is permissible in law and in the light of the Government Resolution dated 29.02.2024 issued by the General Administration Department.
(Hiten S. Venegavkar, J.) (Smt. Vibha Kankanwadi, J.) B. S. Joshi