India, May 1 -- In a major development in the Rs.400 crore Shalarth ID scam, the Maharashtra government is considering the constitution of a judicial committee to investigate the fraud, under which over 4,000 bogus teachers are estimated to have drawn salaries for nearly six years.

A Shalarth ID is a unique, 10-digit identification number assigned to staff and teachers in government and government-aided schools across Maharashtra. It serves as a permanent identifier on the Shalarth portal to manage payroll, service records and personnel data.

During a hearing last week, the Bombay High Court proposed the formation of a committee headed by a retired chief justice or a sitting high court judge to probe the scam, which came to light in May...