The school has agreed to let Mr. Salve stand without folding his hands during prayers

Six years after denying a higher pay scale to teacher Sanjay Salve for refusing to fold his hands during prayer time, the management of the school he worked for has finally backed down.

The Savitribai Phule Secondary School in Nashik informed a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday that it was ready to pay Mr. Salve’s dues from 2008, the year from which he was eligible for a higher pay scale. The school also agreed to let him stand without folding his hands during prayers.

The Hindu had >reported the teacher’s fight against the management, which had withheld his increments.

The court asked the management to draft consent terms within the next 15 days and seek Mr. Salve’s approval. “If both parties agree on consent terms, then we can resolve the matter in the next hearing,” said Justice Abhay Oka.

The court observed that all his confidential reports from and before 2008 were “excellent.”