4 min readMumbaiJul 17, 2026 11:06 AM IST
First published on: Jul 16, 2026 at 09:56 PM IST
The Bombay High Court has yet again expressed “displeasure” and rapped the Maharashtra Police for entertaining complaints by “strangers” seeking inquiries over Shalarth ID and appointments of professors, school teachers and non-teaching staff, by registering FIRs based on these “strangers'” complaints. “Shut down all educational institutions,” remarked the Bombay HC, pulling up the Maharashtra Police.
The rebuke to the Maharashtra cops comes days after the Bombay High Court rapped the Maharashtra government for repeatedly entertaining the complaints against the teachers, professors and others.
Coming down heavily on the police, the high court said that despite being public servants, the police were “probably thinking that they are real lords with law under them.” The Shalarth portal is a digital system for managing school employees’ service and salary records.
The high court bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Gautam A Ankhad has sought the presence of the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Nashik (rural) next week before it and said the high-level authorities, including the state chief secretary and Director General of Police (DGP), should take cognizance of the issue.
“Now you [State Police] have opened this front against all educational institutions. Shut down all educational institutions then. You are chasing every institution saying there was an irregularity 20 years ago in appointments and it is happening at the instance of some stranger, extortionists and bystander,” the judges orally quipped, while hearing pleas by Nashik schools alleging an FIR based on “frivolous” complaints lodged against their teachers by unrelated strangers.
When HC pulled up SIT
In May this year, another bench led by Justice Ghuge had pulled up the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the misuse of Shalarth Portal for entertaining unverified complaints, as the court observed that such frivolous complaints could leave teachers “depressed” and affect their health and lives.
On Thursday, July 16, Acting CJ Ghuge said that all officers below the Chief Secretary-level have assured the courts that strangers’ and extortionists’ complaints would not be entertained. “The state has issued a Government Resolution (GR) and yet your officers are violating it,” the judge said.
What state government said
In the Nashik case, the government lawyer told the court that as per the procedure, the officer concerned is instructed to forward the complaint to the education department. “You first put your house in order…They bring extortionists and ask them to lodge complaints,” the judge said.
The petitioner also claimed the police continued to pursue the FIR even after the “stranger” complainant withdrew it.
“Is this a new technique to instigate a complaint? With this conduct of the Police department, law and order in Maharashtra is going to be at risk. Probably you are thinking that you are the real lords and law is under you. You are public servants and nobody is above the law… Even Caesar’s wife was not above the law, right? You are not Caesar. We passed so hundreds of orders and still you behave like this? Most of them are extortionists. What has an electrical contractor got to do with the appointment of an employee at an educational institution?” Acting CJ Ghuge questioned.
The HC asked the Nashik (Rural) SP to remain present in the court during the next hearing on July 20.
The petitioner claimed the police continued to pursue the FIR even after the "stranger" complainant withdrew it. (File Photo) 
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