BENGALURU: Taking state government to task for not paying salary to more than 2,000 employees of the court, the Karnataka High Court on Monday ordered the government to take immediate steps to pay the arrears of revised salary with effect from October 6, 2004 to March 31, 2018 along with interest and salary for the months of April and May 2018 forthwith.
The court asked its registry to send manual bills to the treasury which in turn would release the salary with arrears to employees. Necessary arrangement in this connection shall be made by the finance department, the court said.
The court, which was hearing the contempt petition filed by the HC employees against government, was upset after seeing the statement of the government wherein it has sought four weeks to give April 2018 salary while explaining that the delay was due to the time required for updating HRMS software and it also cited the poll duty for delay in paying salary.
For this, court said: "We have taken serious note of the delay in disbursal of the amount and instructed the Additional Government Advocate for the presence of the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department".
Prasad submitted the affidavit reiterating that government is agreeable to facilitate the Registry of the High Court to submit manually prepared bills to the Treasury in respect of revised salary for the months of April and May 2018 and also arrears payable to the employees of the High Court till the HRMS Software system is put in place.
"We make it clear that arrears of pay with effect from 06.10.2004 to 31.03.2018 along with interest, revised salary for the months of April and May 2018, and as also future salary shall be released forthwith on the Registry sending manual bills to the Treasury", the court said while asking the government to submit action taken report by May 30.