CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has sought personal appearance of the Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Higher Education department and Director of Higher Education before it on November 3.
The direction came on a contempt of court petition filed by Basanta Kumar Sahoo, a lecturer in Physics at Rajsunakhala College in Nayagarh district, alleging non-compliance of an order issued by the High Court for payment of arrears related to his salary entitlements from 1988.
"In the event COVID-19 situation continues and there is restriction in physical appearance, Registry is directed to make way for their personal appearance in this Court on the date fixed maintaining the Covid guidelines at the relevant point of time," the single judge bench of Justice Biswanath Rath said in his order on Wednesday.
Sahoo had filed a petition in 1999 and the HC had issued the order on July 6, 2018. But the order is yet to be implemented by the State Government. Sahoo joined the college as lecturer in 1984. He is set to retire in February, 2021.
Sahoo had filed a contempt petition for the second time. The Court had issued notices on the plea on December 12, 2019. But the department had not responded to it so far.
Taking note of it, Justice Rath said the circumstances compelled him to direct for the personal appearance of the two senior officers of the Higher Education department. "The pendency of the writ petition shall not stand on the way of implementing the direction of this Court in the meantime and submitting their response accordingly," Justice Rath clarified in his order.
Earlier, Sahoo had approached the HC by filing the contempt of court petition in 2018 which was disposed of on February 20, 2019 allowing three months time to comply with the July 6, 2018 order.
In the July order, the Court had directed the State Government to issue a fresh order of grant-in-aid salary entitlement in favour of Sahoo from January 6, 1988 within a period of one month, compute his arrear entitlement within a further period of one month and release the same with six per cent interest per annum in his favour within a further period of one month thereafter.