State orders FIR against 12 officers, school managements in 2012 education scam

Maharashtra government orders FIR against education officials and 12 schools for document forgery, leading to a ₹2.5 crore loss to the state.

MUMBAI: The state government has ordered an FIR to be registered against the education department officers and 12 school managements for forging documents in order to pass off as aided schools. Once this status is obtained, the government pays the salaries of teachers and non-teaching staff of the school beginning with a payment of 20% with a rise of 20% every year.

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The scam took place 13 years ago, and led to a loss of ₹2.5 crore to the state exchequer. A criminal case was registered this week after the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court passed strictures and asked the principal secretary of the school education department to appear before it last week.

The grant, which started at 20% in 2012, went up to 100% by 2017. In this year, the education department learnt that the grant had been sanctioned based on forged documents, and it was stopped. A departmental inquiry was initiated of the officials involved, in which three to four officers were held guilty of forgery. However, no criminal case was registered against them.

Next, the schools moved the Nagpur bench of the Bombay HC for restoration of the grant on the ground that they were eligible for it. They claimed that they had played no part in forging documents, which was all the work of the education department officers. The court, however, held them equally guilty and also questioned why the government was going soft on the officers. Last week, it also sought a report on the action taken against the officials. Taking quick cognisance, the school education department directed the divisional deputy director to file an FIR in the case.

“The criminal case against the department officials, personnel and private persons (from school managements) needs to be filed immediately. Based on the report of the departmental inquiry, a further inquiry should be conducted,” the order by the department states.

“The grant of ₹2.5 crore given to these schools was subsequently recovered from them but the court was insistent on a criminal case being filed against the officials, as they were held guilty in the departmental inquiry,” said an official from the school education department. The officials and office-bearers from the schools are expected to be arrested.”