CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has initiated contempt proceedings against the managing director of the Odisha State Cooperative Bank (OSCB) Siddharth Das for alleged non-compliance with an order directing payment of gratuity dues along with interest to a retired bank officer.
The single judge bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra has issued notice to Das to examine whether there has been wilful disobedience of its earlier order.
The case stems from an earlier judgement dated October 28, 2025, in which the court dismissed a petition filed by the bank and upheld the decision of the Controlling and Appellate Authorities (joint labour commissioner, Bhubaneswar), under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
The authorities had directed the bank to pay gratuity with 10 per cent interest to Managobinda Barik, who retired as deputy general manager in February 2012.
The court also imposed a cost of Rs 20,000 on the bank, observing that it had unnecessarily prolonged litigation and wasted the judicial time.
Barik moved the high court again on March 10, 2026, alleging that the bank had failed to comply with the order even months after the deadline had passed.
The court has fixed May 14, 2026 as the next date of hearing on the matter.