Bombay High Court Slams Arbitrary Cancellation of Teachers’ Approvals Over Administrative Failures

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that teachers and school staff cannot be penalised for systemic failures within the education department, while quashing mass cancellation orders issued against employees who had served for over a decade with valid approvals.

A Division Bench of Justice M. S. Jawalkar and Justice Nandesh S. Deshpande criticised the State’s inquiry process as a “farce” and an “eyewash,” observing that authorities attempted to blame teachers for defects in government systems such as the Pavitra Portal, delayed Shalarth IDs, and outdated UDISE+ records.

The dispute arose after nearly 150 teachers received vague show-cause notices and sudden cancellation of long-standing employment approvals despite serving continuously for 10 to 15 years. The Court found that the notices failed to specify any individual allegations of fraud or misconduct and were issued in complete violation of the applicable Government Resolution governing such inquiries.

The Bench held that administrative irregularities or procedural lapses by the department could not justify abrupt termination of teachers who had no role in the alleged deficiencies. It further noted that if any wrongdoing existed, responsibility could be fixed upon managements or erring officers rather than employees who had lawfully served for years.

Accordingly, the Court restored the teachers’ approvals and directed immediate release of withheld salaries, while permitting fresh proceedings only in cases involving specific allegations of fraud or misrepresentation.