HC sets aside state order appointing administrator over Sanjeevan Gopalkrishna Sanstha schools in Nagpur

The Nagpur district's Sanjeevan Gopalkrishna Sanstha has received relief from the High Court. Justices Anil Kilor and Rajnish Vyas, after hearing the matter, quashed the order issued by the state government placing an administrator over the institution's schools.

The court said plainly that the order had been passed in violation of the principles of natural justice and therefore could not stand in the eyes of the law. The matter reached the High Court through a writ petition filed by the institution.

The petition, filed against the state government and others, said that on September 4, 2026 the government appointed an Assistant Director as administrator over the institution's schools. The allegation was that the petitioner had not been given any opportunity to put its case beforehand.

In its order, the court recalled that when notice was issued on September 28, 2026, the submission of the petitioner's counsel that no opportunity of hearing had been given before the administrator order was already recorded. At the final hearing, the petitioner's advocate, P.P. Thakre, repeated the point. He said the September 4, 2026 order should be set aside because it was contrary to the principles of natural justice.

According to the court, the respondents too did not deny during arguments that the petitioner had not been given a chance to be heard. The court said this aspect goes to the root of the matter, since the administrator has been placed over schools run by the petitioner management.

After hearing both sides, the court quashed the Maharashtra government's order of September 4, 2026. The government was also told to act in line with the letter of September 21, 2026 produced in court by the AGP, and to give the petitioner an opportunity of hearing before passing any order.

During the hearing, Assistant Government Pleader P.P. Pendke placed on record a copy of the correspondence of September 21, 2026 on behalf of the state government. The letter had been sent to the Director by a desk officer of the VJNT, OBC and SBC Welfare Department in Mumbai.

The letter said that the respondent had been informed of the September 4, 2026 order. It added that the September 6, 2026 letter of the president of the petitioner management and related documents, as well as a letter issued on September 9, 2026 by MLA Charan Singh Thakur, had also been forwarded to the respondent. The letter ended by asking that a report be submitted to the government after examining all necessary and applicable provisions, including the Ashram School Code, circulars and GRs.