The Maharashtra government has taken over the management of seven colleges run by the Sinhgad Technical Education Society for three years after prolonged non-payment of salaries and retirement benefits to employees disrupted the institutions and threatened students’ academic interests.
The Directorate of Higher Education issued a notification appointing the divisional joint director of higher education, Pune, as administrator of the seven permanently unaided colleges. The order was issued under the Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Management) Act, 1976, and follows repeated directions, notices and hearings concerning unpaid employee dues.
The colleges covered by the takeover are Sinhgad College of Law at Ambegaon; Shrimati Kashibai Navale College of Education at Kusgaon, Lonavla; Sinhgad College of Arts and Commerce at Narhe; Nirvrutti Babaji Navale College of Commerce and Science at Kusgaon; Sinhgad College of Commerce at Kondhwa; Shrimati Kashibai Navale College of Commerce at Erandwane; and Sinhgad College of Science at Ambegaon Budruk.
Higher education director Shailendra Deolankar said the management had failed to discharge its responsibilities and that its functioning was affecting students’ academic interests. The department, he said, was satisfied that taking over the colleges was necessary in the public interest, particularly to protect students.
The notification said employees had approached the Bombay High Court over the non-payment of salaries and retirement benefits. It referred to court directions issued in July 2025 and August 2026, along with reminders issued by the Pune divisional higher education office between November 2025 and April 2026. The management did not clear the outstanding dues despite those steps, according to the notification.
The department also held joint hearings with representatives of the Sinhgad Technical Education Society and employees who had filed petitions in September 2026. The management was subsequently directed to calculate and pay pending salaries through communications issued on September 30 and November 4. Those directions were not followed, Deolankar said.
The notification also recorded protests by teaching and non-teaching employees and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh over unpaid salaries and arrears linked to the sixth and seventh pay commissions. It stated that at least 13 employees had died by suicide amid financial distress associated with the prolonged non-payment of salaries. The Bombay High Court took serious note of the matter in its November 3 order, according to the report.
The state’s intervention comes amid wider legal scrutiny of the society. The Bombay High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax authorities to investigate the affairs of 44 institutions run by the Sinhgad Technical Education Society. The court has also restrained the society’s trustees from dealing with movable or immovable properties while the investigation is pending.
The Directorate of Higher Education issued a show-cause notice to the society on November 5, asking why management of the colleges should not be taken over. The society did not submit a response, the November 12 order stated.
The takeover gives effect to the High Court’s direction to the Directorate of Higher Education and the Directorate of Technical Education to take appropriate legal action against other defaulting institutions where orders had not yet been passed. The Pune divisional joint director of higher education will administer the seven colleges during the three-year takeover period.
