Interim stay on recovery of excess wages of private school employees

Chhatrapati Sambhajiangar: The State Government's decision of July 31 2025, reducing the pay scale of the second benefit of the Assured Career Progression Scheme (ACPS) under the improved service of private school employees and implementing the pay scale of 'Level-IV' instead of 'Level-V' of the 7th Pay Commission was challenged in the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court.

A HC bench comprising Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Hiten Venegaonkar, in view of the petition, ordered to issue notices to all concerned officers, including the Government, on 15 October.

An interim order was issued that the petitioners should not be forced to recover the overpaid wages. The petition will be heard on 28 November.

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What is the petition?

About 40 employees, including Jitendra Shisode, have filed a petition through adv. Vitthalrao Salgare.

In the petition, it was stated that since there was no opportunity for promotion for private school employees and they were getting promotion late, the Government implemented the ‘Time-bound Promotion Scheme’ after 12 years of service in 1998. Then in 2001, the ‘ACPS ’ was implemented for Government and Zilla Parishad employees and provided for ‘one-time’ promotion in the pay scale throughout the entire service period.

In 2010, the Government implemented the career progression scheme under the Reformed Service with retrospective effect from 2006. It made a provision to provide the actual benefit of the scheme from April 1, 2010, by providing ‘notional pay increment’ from 1 October 2006 to 31 March 2010 and to provide ‘two benefits’ throughout the entire service period. The benefit of this scheme was provided to the Government and ZP employees. However, it was not provided to non-teaching employees in private schools.