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Contempt notice to Sinhagad trust chairman over unpaid staff salaries
The Bombay High Court issued a contempt notice to the Sinhagad Technical Education Society's chairman for failing to pay over ₹325 crore in salaries to staff.
Pune: The Bombay high court issued a contempt notice to the chairman of the Sinhagad Technical Education Society over alleged non-compliance with court directions related to paying salaries to employees of institutions run by the trust. The order copy was uploaded on Monday.
A bench of justices Ravindra V. Ghuge and Abhay J. Mantri passed the order on March 11 while hearing a batch of contempt petitions filed by staff members, including one by Professor Dr Pankaj Miniyar.
The petitions claim that the management failed to comply with the court’s earlier order dated July 17, 2025, which directed them to resolve the issue of unpaid salaries.
According to the petitioners, the management did not cooperate with the office of the Joint Director of Education despite repeated reminders from the department.
During the hearing, the state government informed the court that the department sent 15 reminders to management between August 2025 and January 2026 seeking compliance with the court’s directions. However, the management allegedly responded only after the contempt petitions were taken up by the court earlier this month.
The court also noted that more than 1,000 employees, including professors, teachers and non-teaching staff, have been affected by unpaid salaries. According to submissions made before the court, the total outstanding salary dues reached nearly ₹325 crore.
Lawyers representing the employees told the court that the management recently paid salaries to only four staff members — about ₹9 lakh each — allegedly to create an impression that payments were being made.
Observing that the circumstances indicated “wilful and intentional” disobedience of the court’s orders, the bench issued a contempt notice to chairman M N Navale. The court directed him to remain personally present on the next date of hearing and file an affidavit explaining his conduct.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on April 17.
The court also recorded the state government’s submission that it is considering whether around ₹204 crore in funds meant for the institution could instead be used to clear the pending salaries of employees.
The bench observed that the employees and the state government may approach the court in a related writ petition to work out a mechanism for payment of the outstanding dues.
