Petition asks Bombay High Court to address vacancies in 14 Maharashtra bodies

A public interest petition has asked the Bombay High Court’s Kolhapur Bench to order Maharashtra to fill vacancies in 14 government bodies, The Hindu reported, citing concerns about recruitment and public oversight.

Student and activist Vivekanand Patil filed the plea through lawyer Asim Sarode. The petition says the Maharashtra Public Service Commission has 92 vacant posts out of 270 and argues that understaffing can disrupt examinations, grievance handling and recruitment transparency for about 400,000 aspirants.

The staffing figures cited in the plea also include 29 vacancies out of 54 posts at the State Human Rights Commission, 15 out of 35 at the State Commission for Women and 56 out of 146 at the State Information Commission. It lists 33 vacancies out of 87 at the Lokayukta and 125 out of 497 at the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

The Mahatma Phule Backward Class Development Corporation has just 20 employees against 267 sanctioned posts, according to the petition. The applicant argues that such shortages weaken welfare programmes and the institutions responsible for monitoring government work.

The plea also challenges delayed reporting, saying the public service commission released its 2022–23 report only in July 2026. It asks the court to require the state to disclose vacancies and recruitment measures while the case is heard, and ultimately to set a deadline for filling sanctioned posts. These are the petitioner’s requests and allegations, rather than findings or directions issued by the court.