The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to frame a “fool-proof” Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to ensure the full and consistent functioning of the Pavitra Portal, the state’s online platform for teachers’ recruitment. The court underscored that all educational institutions must strictly adhere to this system and refrain from conducting private recruitments under any pretext.
A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Ashwin Bhobe, in its order dated October 16, observed that several schools and colleges in Maharashtra continue to carry out appointments privately, often claiming that the Pavitra Portal was non-functional or that they had not been provided login credentials.
“There has to be strict adherence and utmost discipline to the Pavitra Portal recruitment system,” the bench said, adding that such practices undermine the transparency and accountability that the system was designed to ensure.
The court directed the Principal Secretary of the Education and Sports Department to constitute a three-member high-level committee to inspect educational institutions across the state and submit a comprehensive report. Based on the findings, the government has been asked to initiate remedial action against erring institutions.
The High Court emphasised that the government must ensure every institution has a functional login ID and continuous access to the portal. The SOP, it said, must also include provisions for regularly uploading details of surplus teachers to maintain transparency and avoid misuse of the recruitment process.
The state has been given time until March 2026 to formalise the SOP.
Expressing dismay at the state of affairs, the bench said it had encountered multiple cases where institutions made private appointments because education officers failed to furnish lists of surplus teachers.
“We did not expect such a deteriorating situation. The state government needs to hold every education officer accountable and should deal with the issue with a firm hand,” the order stated.
The court cautioned that allowing private recruitments despite the existence of an official system would “practically neutralise the Pavitra Portal.”
The bench was hearing petitions filed by teachers and the Sudhagad Education Society from Raigad district, challenging the state’s decision to reject their appointment proposals for the post of Shikshan Sevak.
The petitioners contended that their appointments were made privately in 2022 because the Pavitra Portal was not active at the time. However, the government submitted that the portal was operational and the institute had been allotted a login ID, which it chose to ignore.
The state also noted that since 2017, private educational institutions are required to recruit teachers exclusively through the Pavitra Portal. The petitioner institute, despite having access to the system, had not used it for any appointments over the past eight years.
The High Court observed that the institute’s consistent claim of the portal being “non-functional” was untenable, particularly when official records confirmed that a login ID had been allocated.
“When the Pavitra Portal was activated and the login ID was also available, the petitioner institute could not have indulged in a private recruitment process,” the court concluded.
