The Pune sessions court has granted anticipatory bail to Maruti Nivrutti Navale and Sunanda Maruti Navale, trustees of a school owned by Sinhgad Institute, who were booked by Yeolewadi police for allegedly cheating parents by admitting students to a school that had been shifted from its permitted location in Kondhwa Budruk.
In an order passed on October 17, Additional Sessions Judge DR Shetty allowed their anticipatory bail application in connection with a first information report (FIR) registered at Yeolewadi police station under Section 318(4) read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
The case centres on the relocation of a CBSE-pattern high school and primary school owned by Sinhgad Institute from land bearing Survey No. 40/4A+4B to Survey No. 50/1 in Kondhwa Budruk.
According to the prosecution’s case, as recorded in the order, the applicants allegedly admitted nearly 62 students to Class 1 for the 2026-27 academic year despite a Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) notice dated February 12, 2026, cautioning them against granting fresh admissions because of an alleged breach of a government circular.
The FIR was lodged by Shankar Ramchandra Mandve, assistant administrative officer in the education department of the PMC’s Kondhwa-Undri regional office.
{{/usCountry}}The FIR was lodged by Shankar Ramchandra Mandve, assistant administrative officer in the education department of the PMC’s Kondhwa-Undri regional office.
{{/usCountry}}The applicants approached the court seeking protection from arrest, arguing that no prima facie case of cheating had been established against them. They also contended that there had been an inordinate delay in registering the FIR.
Opposing their plea, the investigating officer submitted that the applicants needed to be interrogated as part of the investigation.
Advocate Milind Pawar, appearing for the applicants, argued that Sinhgad Institute had complied with the conditions prescribed under government circulars dated July 27, 2021, and May 15, 2026.
He submitted that the school had not been shifted beyond the permissible distance of five kilometres. Instead, it had been relocated by approximately 1.5 kilometres within the same premises of Sinhgad Institute for administrative reasons.
Pawar also informed the court that Sinhgad Institute Education Society had filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court concerning the dispute. According to the submission recorded in the order, no order had been passed in that petition at the time of the hearing.
The court also observed that the investigating officer had not stated in the reply that any parent had complained about the alleged wrongdoing. It further noted that the allegations were based on documents.
“Whether the breach of Government circulars amounts to penal provisions is the question which requires to be investigated,” the judge observed in the order.
The court also noted that the offence under Section 318(4) of the BNS was cognisable and punishable with imprisonment of up to seven years. However, it expressed doubt over the applicability of the provision at that stage of the proceedings.
Considering these circumstances and the background of the case, the court confirmed the interim anticipatory bail protection granted to the applicants and allowed their application.
Under the order, both applicants are required to execute personal bonds of ₹50,000 each, along with sureties of like amounts.