CBI, ED and Income Tax Probe Ordered into Education Society Over ₹400 Crore Unpaid Salaries, Rules Bombay High Court

CBI, ED and Income Tax Probe Ordered into Education Society Over ₹400 Crore Unpaid Salaries, Rules Bombay High Court in Rohini Aniruddha Mohekar v. Maruti Nivrutti Navale

Case: Rohini Aniruddha Mohekar v. Maruti Nivrutti Navale and connected matters
Date of Judgment: 10 November 2026
Court: Bombay High Court
Coram: Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Advait M. Sethna
Proceedings: Contempt Petition No. 349 of 2026 in Writ Petition No. 6765 of 2018 and connected writ petitions

Court Observation

“We thus have a strong prima facie case of there being materials which would indicate that amounts are being siphoned away, to the deprivation of the employees. The outstanding amounts payable to the employees are stated to be more than Rupees 400 crores.”

Summary

The Bombay High Court has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax authorities to investigate the Sinhgad Technical Education Society and its trustees, after finding a strong prima facie case that funds meant for staff salaries were siphoned away while employees went unpaid for years. A special Division Bench convened during the Diwali vacation after the society breached its undertaking of 6 November 2026 to disburse Rs. 60.65 crore to teaching and non-teaching employees ahead of the festival.

The society runs 44 educational institutions, and unpaid salaries and terminal dues of its staff are stated to exceed Rs. 400 crore. The Court noted that full admissions had taken place over the years and students were paying fees, yet the institutions had no money to pay basic salaries for about eight years, and observed that about 13 teachers are stated to have died by suicide. Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in State of West Bengal v. Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights, the Court said a CBI inquiry is to be ordered only rarely, but this was an exceptional situation in which such an order was needed to enforce the petitioners’ fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21. The findings recorded so far are prima facie, and the trustees will have an opportunity to answer the show cause notices and the allegations before any final determination.

Key Holdings

  • A CBI inquiry is to be ordered only rarely, but an exceptional situation in which employees have gone unpaid for years while funds appear to have been diverted justifies such an order to enforce fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
  • Where 44 full-fledged institutions routinely have no money to pay the basic salaries or terminal dues of their employees, the claim cannot be believed at face value; the question is where the money has gone.
  • There is a limit to which commercialisation of education can be resorted to, at the cost of the innocent employees of an educational institution.
  • Disclosure affidavits showing shareholdings in several companies and co-operative banks, large advances and disproportionate income tax returns can support a prima facie case of diversion of funds, including the possibility of funds being diverted to other businesses or out of the country.

Directions Issued

  • The CBI, the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and the Income Tax authorities are to investigate the affairs of the society’s 44 institutions and their trustees, with the disclosure affidavits supplied to them through the Central Government counsel.
  • All bank accounts and investments of the society and the trustees are to remain frozen, with no dealing in their shareholdings, and earlier interim orders restraining dealings in their properties are to continue.
  • Show cause notices are to issue to the society and its trustees, including President and Chief Managing Trustee Maruti Nivrutti Navale, on why they should not be punished for breaching the Court’s order of 6 November 2026.
  • The trustees are to deposit their passports with the Registrar (Judicial), not leave Pune, and report weekly at Deccan Police Station; the Pune Police Commissioner is to ensure action on the existing first information reports.
  • The Education Department is to take over the schools or absorb students elsewhere, an Administrator is to take charge of the technical institutions, and action is to be taken under the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Management) Act, 1976 and the Transfer of Management Act, 1971.
  • The provident fund authorities are to examine provident fund compliance, and the Charity Commissioner is to inquire into the trust under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950.
  • A preliminary report on the investigation is to be placed before the Court on 19 November 2026, when the matters will be heard by the regular Bench.

Background

About 220 writ petitions and contempt proceedings filed by employees of the society’s institutions are before the High Court, over unpaid salaries, retirement benefits and other service-related dues. The society had undertaken on 6 November 2026 to disburse Rs. 60.65 crore to its employees before Diwali, but failed to do so, leading the special Bench to convene during the vacation. The Court also faulted the education authorities for not acting in time and noted that first information reports already registered had shown no progress.

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Disclaimer: This is a summary prepared for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should refer to the official judgment for the authoritative text.

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