Former principal wins 25-yr-old battle with state for her dues

MUMBAI: A 78-year-old former principal of Airport High School, Vile Parle, won a legal battle with the state government for her dues, fought for over quarter of a century.
The Bombay High Court directed the state government to pay Padma Manwani interest for the delayed payment of her salary for 1986-1990, when she was working as assistant headmistress of the school and junior college. The state initially denied approval for her appointment for over two decades and when it was sanctioned after her retirement, refused to pay interest on delayed salary.
The government said the delay was not deliberate or intentional and opposed paying her any interest on the delayed salary. A division bench of Justice Anoop Mohta and Justice K R Shriram rejected the state’s contention and directed it to shell out interest at the rate of 9%. “No intention or no deliberate or willful action loses its importance once a case is made out,” said the judges. The court said that there was no reason why Manwani’s appointment as assistant headmistress was not approved at the appropriate time, and once approval was given, she had to be paid interest for the delay in the salary. The court also directed the state to pay Rs 5,000 as legal costs to Manwani.
“Considering the background, and as Manwani has suffered and ultimately had to initiate court proceedings, we are inclined to observe that the case is made out to impose costs,’’ said the judges.
Manwani was promoted as assistant headmistress in 1986. The state refused to grant approval to the school’s decision or release her salary, saying the post was for the reserved category. In 1990, she was appointed principal. She retired in 1995 and began her battle for her dues. “I met ministers and chief ministers, with little success but did not give up hope,” said Manwani, who personally argued the matter in the HC. In 2009, after years of representations to the government, Manwani finally moved the HC.
“Despite repeated orders passed by this court referring to reasons for delayed payment and reason for not passing the order earlier and not making the payment in time, no specific averment and reason is placed on record (by the state government),” observed the court.