Court orders Pune’s Sinhgad institute to reinstate 96 terminated staff

Sinhgad technical education society has also been directed to pay staff salary for the terminated period

The teaching and non-teaching staff members of Sinhgad technical education society (STES) who were illegally terminated by the management will now be reinstated, as Bombay high court ordered the institute to reinstate 96 of the 275 staff who were terminated and also pay them salary for the terminated period. The order comes in response to the undertaking submitted to the court by the STES justifying its stand on the terminations. The hearing was conducted on October 22, following which the order was confirmed recently.

Sinhgad technical education society teaching and non-teaching staff had been through a rough journey for almost a year fighting with the college management for not giving salaries for more than 16 months. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Suresh Pakale, the advocate representing the terminated faculty, said, “After hearing the matter on October 22, the high court directed the institute to withdraw their termination, reinstate them and pay them salary of past last three months of termination.”

With a majority of teachers welcoming the move, some are worried about the intricacies of the reinstatement, as many had been transferred to other campuses prior to the termination. Manisha Phoujdar was one among these staff members. A faculty at Sinhgad college of pharmacy, Vadgaon campus, she was transferred to Lonavla campus and later terminated without cause. Worried about the reinstatement, she said, “Many of us who had been transferred prior to termination might face a technicality issue, as we do not want to be reinstated to the institute we were terminated from. Many female employees were transferred without cause,so we sent a grievance letter to the Savitribai Phule Pune university. Hopefully, a meeting will be held by November 30 at the university for us to revert to our original campuses after reinstatement,” said Phoujdar.

Another faculty, Vaibhav Nalawade of Sinhgad institute of technology and science, Narhe, said, “I was transferred from Narhe to Solapur campus, which does not even come under the STES management, making both the transfer and termination not only illegal but also null and void. Hopefully the university will address the issue in the next meeting.”

The Bombay high court is expected to give verdict on the remaining terminated staff.

In addition to this, the office of charity commissioner has issued a notice to STES asking the trusteeship of Maruti Navale, STES president, to be suspended, under Section 41D(1) (f) of Bombay Public Trust Act 1950. According to the order, the institute can explain their side by November 1, after which the said action will be taken against Navale.