Nagpur: The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has issued a bailable warrant against Ranjit Singh Deo, Secretary of the Education Department, Mumbai, in the sum of Rs 5,000 as he failed to respond to the court despite numerous orders. The court has also ordered his presence at the next hearing on October 22.
The petitioner, Ratnamala Nathhu Aglawe, filed a contempt petition alleging wilful disregard of a judicial directive issued on July 25, 2022, by the Secretary. The case was based on a petition filed by a society running a Marathi Medium Primary School, which sought to convert from a self-financed institution to a non-grant-in-aid school. On July 25, 2022, the High Court directed the Secretary of the Education Department to make an expeditious decision on the society’s representation within eight weeks. Despite this clear order, the petitioner’s representation, initially made on February 6, 2020, remains unresolved.
Today's Rate
Sat 14 Dec. 2024
The petitioner society submitted a fresh representation on December 12, 2022, as permitted by the court, and followed up with a legal notice on May 11, 2023. However, the Secretary failed to act on the matter within the court ordered timeframe, prompting contempt. During the proceedings, the court issued a notice to the respondent on July 31, 2024, giving four weeks to respond.
As of October 8, despite being served, the Secretary failed to appear in court. Consequently, Justices Avinash Gharote and M S Jawalkar issued a bailable warrant against the Secretary of the Education Department, Mumbai.
Advocate Tejal Agre represented the petitioner, while AGP S S Jachak appeared for the State.
