Under fire: The state secretariat

Cuttack, Jan. 20: Orissa High Court today issued directions to the state government to submit in court Rs 50,000 in the form of a bank draft for payment towards cost to a petitioner.

The court directed the government to submit the bank draft drawn in favour of the petitioner in court on January 27 taking note of non-compliance of an earlier order. The amount shall be recovered from the salary of the erring officers, the order said.

The single bench of Justice M.M. Das issued the direction today while rejecting a case filed by the school and mass education department instead of complying with the order within two weeks, which was passed while adjudicating on a contempt case.

The contempt case related to order passed on claim of Parmeswar Mohanta (44), a teacher in L.N. High School at Chinamahi Poshi in Keonjhar district for higher scale of pay on acquiring higher qualification and finding the government guilty of committing contempt.

The commissioner cum secretary of the school and mass education department and the director of secondary education in Orissa was directed by the court on March 10, 2008 to take a final decision within four months on the January 6, 2007 letter of the inspector of schools (Keonjhar circle) seeking clarification with regard to Mohanta’s eligibility for higher scale of pay according to his postgraduate qualification Sanskrit.

The court after finding the government guilty of committing contempt had on October 28, 2010 directed the director of secondary education and inspector of schools (Keonjhar) to appear in person and pay the amount payable to Mohanta in the form of a bank draft drawn in his favour before the court on November 30, 2010.