For over 100 days, the Minority Development Department in Maharashtra, part of former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s portfolios, did not grant minority status to any institution.
Then, starting January 28, a few hours after he died in a plane crash, on the two days that followed, and on February 2, 75 institutions across the state were granted minority status according to documents reviewed by Hindustan Times.
Minority Development Department’s additional secretary Milind Shenoy, whose signature appears on the certificates, did not respond to HT’s requests for a comment.
The documents show that the first approval was recorded at 3.09 pm on January 28, when government offices were officially closed following the chief minister’s announcement of a half-day holiday as part of state mourning. Nine institutions received minority status certificates on January 28 alone, followed by a large batch of approvals on January 29 and 30. The process resumed on February 2 after a Sunday break.
What has raised eyebrows is the sharp contrast with the preceding months. From August last year until January 27, not a single minority status certificate was issued during Pawar’s tenure. In contrast, 75 institutions were cleared within just four days of his death.
State Minority Commission chairman Pyare Khan has termed the episode “shocking” and demanded a CID probe into the approvals. He has also sought strict action against officials found responsible for violating established procedures and announced that more than 8,500 minority schools across Maharashtra will be scrutinised.
“The sudden spurt in approvals during the mourning period has raised serious questions about whether the earlier stay was bypassed and who authorised these clearances. There needs to be a thorough probe into this,” he added.
Records indicate that the process of granting minority status had effectively been put on hold following a letter issued on October 12, 2025, by the minister for minority development, Ajit Pawar. The letter directed the department to carry out a detailed review of institutions seeking minority status and explicitly instructed that no further approvals be granted until verification was completed after it emerged that educational institutions were misusing the minority status to bypass giving admission to underprivileged students under the Right To Education.
The review was meant to assess whether institutions met key requirements, including proof of minority management, compliance with norms prescribed under education laws, appointment of qualified teachers, availability of basic infrastructure and facilities, and adherence to conditions linked to student welfare and participation in co-curricular activities. Only after submission and scrutiny of these reports were approvals to resume.
“The bureaucracy showed bewildering haste in clearing these 75 proposals. There are over 1,000 proposals for minority status still pending, and many more could have been processed had the matter not come to light,” said Akshay Jain, general secretary of Pune Youth Congress, who flagged the issue on Monday.
Among the institutions that received approvals during the controversial January window were 25 schools run by Podar International School, all cleared on January 29. Schools managed by St Xavier’s institutions, as well as those run by Swami Shanti Prakash and Devprakash institutions, also feature in the list. Hindustan Times reached out to Pavan Podar, chairman of Podar Education Centre, for a comment but no response was received.
The controversy has also drawn attention to how minority status is granted and the benefits attached to it. According to education experts, minority status flows from Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India which gives religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. An educational institution can apply for minority status if it is started and managed by a religious or linguistic minority community.
In Maharashtra, religious minorities recognised by the state include Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains. Linguistic minorities include communities whose mother tongue is Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, Kannada, Tamil or Telugu. To qualify for minority status, an institution is required to demonstrate that its founders or a majority of its trustees belong to the minority community concerned; that effective management and decision-making powers rest with members of that community; and that the trust deed or other official founding documents clearly state that the institution has been established for the benefit of that minority.
Once minority status is granted, institutions receive several exemptions and protections. They are not required to implement the mandatory 25% quota for students from economically weaker sections under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. They also enjoy greater autonomy in admissions, some relaxation in teacher recruitment norms as recognised by court rulings, and protection from excessive government interference in internal management. These institutions are also eligible for various government grants for hostels, laboratories, infrastructure development and other facilities, making the minority tag both financially and administratively significant. “By taking advantage of such loopholes, many educational organisations are now trying to get minority status so that they can avail the benefits of these exemptions,” said Prof. Nandkumar Kakirde, Director and Honorary Secretary of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, a Pune-based educational institution.
CM Fadnavis orders probe
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday ordered a high-level inquiry into the case where minority status certificates were wrongly issued to schools. He directed chief secretary Rajesh Agarwal to conduct the investigation and ensure strict action against those found guilty, confirmed highly placed sources in the government.
Deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar, who is also holding the charge of minority affairs development, also ordered the department to conduct a thorough investigation into cases. She directed that strict action be taken against those responsible. The directives were issued in a review meeting of the minority affairs department held by Sunetra Pawar on Monday. She directed that the functioning of the department should become more people-oriented and accountable to society. The deputy chief minister instructed that the funds allocated for the minority community be distributed equally and transparently among all eligible components.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar questioned the alleged delay in the investigation in the plane crash that killed deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. He said that the probe has not gained any momentum even after 20 days and the news reports of black box being damaged further deepens the suspicion he had raised a few days ago. He is also set to hold another presser on the issue on Wednesday.
“Twenty days have passed since the unfortunate accident, yet the investigation hasn’t gained any momentum. Is the delay solely to allow the VSR company to destroy evidence or does the company have someone’s protection?… The information emerging today about the black box being damaged makes it seem like the possibility I predicted five days ago is turning out to be true,” Rohit said in a post on X.