Synopsis

The petitioner and respondent no.7 were appointed through two separate and independent selection processes. The petitioner was appointed on a partially aided post reserved for VJNT, while respondent no.7 was appointed on an unreserved unaided post. The Education Officer initially granted approvals correctly. However, the School Management requested, and the Education Officer acceded to, an interchange of approvals—effectively swapping the appointments. The High Court quashed the interchange, holding that: (i) approval is an individual approval corresponding to a specific selection process; (ii) approval cannot be granted for a post that was not part of the selection procedure; (iii) the Education Officer had no authority to interchange approvals; (iv) the School Management's conduct was mala fide; (v) the School Management's separate writ petition challenging a reply affidavit was an abuse of process.

1. Heading of the judgment

High court of judicature at bombay bench at aurangabad

Writ petition no. 5331 of 2018 (with writ petition no. 14300 of 2021 and civil application no. 7195 of 2023)

Pratibha kalidas darade (petitioner) vs. The state of maharashtra & ors. (respondents)

Coram: hon’ble mr. justice kishore c. sant and hon’ble mr. justice ajit b. kadethankar

Core Law: Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Regulation Act, 1977 – Appointment and approval – Interchange of approvals – Selection process – Individual approval corresponds to specific selection – Service jurisprudence – Abuse of process.

Court: High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Bench at Aurangabad
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Kishore C. Sant and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ajit B. Kadethankar (Division Bench)
Date of Judgment: June 17, 2026 (Reserved on June 11, 2026)
Case Nos.: Writ Petition No. 5331 of 2018 and Writ Petition No. 14300 of 2021
Citation: 2026:BHC-AUG:23741-DB

2. Legal framework

Major laws and provisions involved:

• Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Regulation Act, 1977 – (MEPS Act) – regulation of service conditions, appointment, and approval

• Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1981 – procedure for selection and appointment

• Constitution of India – Article 226 (writ jurisdiction)

Subject matter of the judgment:

Whether a School Management and Education Officer can interchange the approvals granted to two employees who were appointed through separate and independent selection processes, effectively swapping their appointments and posts, without any authority in law; and whether such interchange is valid when the employees did not participate in each other's selection processes.

Key legal principles applied:

• Approval is individual and corresponds to a sp

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