KAMARUNISSA RABBETOFIC KURULKAR v. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THRO. THE SECRETARY SCHOOL EUCATION DEPT.
Approval of Teacher Transfer: Rejection Based on Incorrect Facts Regarding Additional Subject Charge is Unjustified; Mandamus Issued for Approval and Inclusion in Shalarth System.
Court: Bombay High Court
Citation: 2025:BHC-KOL:3825-DB
Decision Date: 11-12-2025
List of Laws
Maharashtra Private Schools Conditions Rule 1988; Maharashtra Government Servants Regulation of Transfers and Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act, 2005; Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (MEPS) Act
- Facts: A qualified Assistant Teacher (Petitioner No. 1) was initially appointed to an unaided post teaching English. Later, she acquired qualifications in Hindi. A vacancy arose in an aided post for Hindi, and the management transferred her to that post. The Deputy Director of Education (Respondent No. 4) rejected the proposal for approval of this transfer, citing that the teacher was also teaching Geography and lacked a postgraduate degree in Geography. The management argued that Geography was merely an additional charge.
- Procedural Posture: The Petitioners (the teacher and the school management) filed a Writ Petition in the High Court challenging the rejection order of the Deputy Director of Education. They sought directions to approve the transfer and include the teacher's name in the Shalarth system (payroll system).
- Issue: Was the Deputy Director of Education justified in rejecting the proposal for approval of the Assistant Teacher's transfer from an unaided post to an aided post, based on the reason that she lacked a postgraduate degree in Geography, when Geography was merely an additional charge?
- Holding: No, the Deputy Director of Education's rejection order was based on erroneous factual premises and is liable to be quashed. The Writ Petition is allowed.
- Reasoning: The Court found that the teacher was never appointed to the post for the subject of Geography; it was merely an additional charge. The Deputy Director's own affidavit acknowledged this fact. Therefore, the rejection based on the lack of a postgraduate degree in Geography was factually incorrect. The court also noted that an Assistant Teacher can be transferred from an unaided post to an aided post within the same management. The Court directed the Respondent No. 4 to approve the transfer, include the teacher's name in the Shalarth system, and release the salary grants. The court relied on previous judgments, Rahul Prakash Nilgar vs. State of Maharashtra & Anr and Miss Devkar Dipali Kisan vs. The State of Maharashtra & Ors, which established the principle of transfer from unaided to aided posts.
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