The Bombay High Court has issued an interim stay on notices from the state and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) census authorities to Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth (TMV), a deemed university, requiring the institution to appoint its employees as enumerators and supervisors for the census 2026-27. The stay will remain in effect until the final disposal of a petition filed by the university.
Court Order and Hearing Details
The vacation bench comprising Justice Shyam C Chandak and Justice Shreeram V Shirsat, on Friday, also restrained the government's directorate of census operation and PMC's city census department from compelling TMV to relieve additional teaching and non-teaching staff for census duties during the ongoing examination and evaluation period. The High Court has scheduled the next hearing for July 31.
University's Argument
Advocate Satyam Nimbalkar, representing TMV, stated, "We challenged the notices while bringing to the court's notice that the university examinations were underway and, in such circumstances, requiring teachers from unaided institutions to perform census duties would adversely affect academic activities." He further argued that teachers and non-teaching employees of unaided institutions cannot be compelled to undertake census work in the manner directed by the authorities.
Details of the Case
The bench referred to senior advocate Vaibhav Joglekar's submission on behalf of TMV, noting that the university has about 300 teaching and non-teaching officers and staff. The census authorities had requested the university to spare the services of 110 officers and staff members for census work. TMV initially accommodated the request by providing 13 staff members from its aided section and 15 from the unaided section. However, the authorities later requested an additional 82 staff members.
Joglekar submitted that this request cannot be accepted because TMV runs 82 courses, examinations are underway for approximately 3,000 students, and exam results must be declared in a time-bound manner.
Interim Stay Granted
The bench stated, "Considering the aforesaid submissions, at this stage, there shall be an ad interim stay in terms of prayer clauses (d) and (e) till the next date. Stand over to July 31, 2026, to be kept along with Writ Petition (L) No. 15009 of 2026."
About the Author
Vishwas Kothari is a special correspondent at The Times of India, Pune. He covers news related to the education and aviation sectors in Pune. Vishwas holds a degree in Mass Communication from Nagpur University and participated in the US Government's International Visitors' (IV) Fellowship Programme on Urban Environmental Issues in 2005. He also writes on crime, courts, legal jurisprudence, defense, and corporate affairs. He loves sports and movies and enjoys reading infotainment magazines.
