SC Dismisses Berhampur University’s Petitions; Upholds Orissa High Court Judgment on Salary Entitlements of 8 Employees

New Delhi: In a jolt to Berhampur University, the Supreme Court has dismissed the Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) filed by the university and upheld the judgment of the Orissa High Court regarding salary entitlements of eight employees.

The apex court bench comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Aravind Kumar upheld the judgment passed by the Orissa High Court on June 11, 2021, in Writ Appeal No. 418/2020.

Senior counsel for Berhampur University, Ravi Prakash Mehrotra, presented arguments in favor of the appeal and sought to challenge the judgment passed by the High Court.

The Supreme Court found no grounds to interfere with the High Court’s judgment. Hence, the SLPs, registered as SLP (C) No. 16814/2021 and SLP (C) No. 17175/2021, were dismissed.

“After hearing learned senior counsel for the petitioners, we see no reason and ground to interfere with the order impugned”, the apex court said while directing that any pending applications related to the case stand disposed of.

Notably, the Berhampur University administration curtailed the salary entitlements of eight employees who had been duly and legitimately promoted. The employees are Narendra Kumar Bisoyi, Ganesh Chandra Behera, Sujata Mukherjee, Sankar Majhi, Kanhu Charan Panda, Bhagaban Sahu , Binod Mishra and Sankar Majhi.

The Orissa High Court’s original judgment had attracted attention due to curtailment of the salary entitlements of eight of the duly and genuinely promoted employees way back in 2011 at Berhampur University.

By upholding the decision of the High Court, the top court has reaffirmed the need for adherence to legal principles and judicial scrutiny in matters of institutional accountability. It also gives justice to the victimized employees who have been fighting the legal battle since 2011.