The Bombay High Court on Friday has directed the Maharashtra government to respond to a plea from Balasaheb Rakshe, an education officer from Thane district, who is seeking to stay his suspension. The suspension follows an alleged sexual abuse incident involving two girls at a school in Badlapur.
Rakshe has requested the court to halt his suspension pending a final decision from the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT), which denied him interim relief on August 26. He also asked the court to prevent the government from appointing a replacement for his position.
Rakshe argues that his suspension was “politically motivated” and that he has been made a “scapegoat.” His lawyer, S B Talekar, claimed there was no misconduct on Rakshe’s part and that the government is trying to deflect responsibility following the Badlapur incident, where a male attendant allegedly abused two kindergarteners.
The division bench of Justices A S Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil has directed the government to file an affidavit by September 6, when they will review the plea. Talekar sought a status quo order until then, but the court will consider this request in the next hearing.
Rakshe’s plea asserts that after discovering the abuse on August 18, he took swift action by contacting the Ambernath block education officer, who visited the school and submitted a report. Rakshe then issued a show cause notice to the school’s officials regarding faulty CCTV cameras. He also forwarded the report to higher education authorities and directed schools to enhance safety measures, including installing CCTVs and complaint boxes.
Despite these actions, the Minister for School Education announced Rakshe’s suspension, which Rakshe contends is unjustified as he was not responsible for regulating pre-primary centers.
