Authority: High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Civil Appellate Jurisdiction

Order Date: 16 September 2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioners: A large group of teaching and non‑teaching employees (numbered 1‑104) of Deccan College Post Graduate & Research Institute (Deemed University), along with separate petitioners in writ petitions 7842/2009 (Shivdas Tulsiram Barne) and 10368/2004 (Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeth Padvyuttar Shikshak Sangh).
  • Respondents: State of Maharashtra, Secretary, School and Education Department (or Higher & Technical Education Department), and the respective Deemed Universities (Deccan College, Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Gokhale Institute).
  • Core Issue: Whether the Fifth Pay Commission benefits should be granted to teachers of the deemed universities from 1 January 1996 (as applied to non‑teaching staff and to teachers of non‑agricultural universities) or from the later dates of 1 April 2000/2002 that the State Government had implemented.
  • Background: Fourth Pay Commission benefits were granted uniformly from 1 January 1986. Fifth Pay Commission benefits were extended to non‑teaching staff of non‑agricultural universities from 1 January 1996 (Notification 4 Feb 1999). For deemed universities, the State Government issued a GR on 1 June 2002 making the Fifth Pay benefits effective from 1 April 2002 for teachers, citing budgetary constraints. Petitioners argued this created discrimination.
  • Government Position: The State argued the later date was a policy decision based on fiscal resources; it had taken responsibility for maintenance grants to the deemed universities and could decide the implementation date. It also claimed that the 80 % UGC reimbursement for the period 1996‑2000 was not applicable because the benefits were not implemented until 2002.
  • Court Reasoning: The Court examined the statutory framework (Maharashtra Universities Act, UGC Act), the central‑state letter of 27 July 1998 allowing states discretion to set a later implementation date, and the principle that discretion must be rational and non‑discriminatory. It noted that non‑teaching staff already received benefits from 1996, while teachers were denied the same without a sound rationale. The Court found the financial‑constraint justification insufficient, especially since the State already bore the maintenance grant liability and could have sought the 80 % UGC assistance.
  • Data Presented: A table of sanctioned posts for the three deemed universities was included:

| Sr.No | University | Teaching Posts | Non‑Teaching Posts | Total |

| 1 | Deccan College Post Graduate & Research Institute, Pune | 53 | 109 | 162 |

| 2 | Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune | 17 | 52 | 69 |

| 3 | Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, Pune | 27 | 24 | 51 |

Final Outcome

1. The Court declares that the date of applicability of Fifth Pay Commission benefits for teachers and non‑teaching staff of the deemed universities shall be 1 January 1996, superseding the State’s earlier dates of 1 April 2000/2002.

2. Eligible teachers and staff are entitled to the consequential benefits arising from that earlier date.

3. The State must pay all arrears within eighteen (18) months from the date of the order.

4. The State is permitted to apply to the University Grants Commission for the 80 % reimbursement of additional expenditure for the period 1 Jan 1996 – 31 Mar 2000; any representation shall be considered expeditiously.

5. The State must decide promptly on the Career Advancement Scheme and submit any fresh or revised proposal within six weeks of the order’s upload, if not already done.

6. Writ Petitions No. 3900/2011, 7771/2004, 7842/2009, 10368/2004 and Civil Application No. 2178/2010 are disposed of.

Topics: Pay Commission Implementation; Deemed University Employment Benefits