Nilima Rani Pandit Vs State of Odisha — Writ and Judicial Review | Orissa HC (2026)

Nilima Rani Pandit Vs State of Odisha — Writ and Judicial Review | Orissa HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Direction to Opposite Party No.1 to consider and dispose of the Petitioner's representation (Annexure-11) within eight weeks from production of certified copy of the order, by passing a speaking and reasoned order, and to communicate the decision to the Petitioner within a week thereof. No substantive adjudication of the Grade Pay/arrears claim was made.

Issue for consideration

Whether the Opposite Parties are obliged to extend Grade Pay of Rs.5400/- and Rs.6600/- to the Petitioner after completion of 20/30 years of service w.e.f. 01.01.2013, as extended to similarly placed Demonstrators, and to calculate and pay arrear dues, in view of office orders (Annexures 1-8) and prior orders of this Court (Annexure-9 series), following Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. +1 more

Ratio / Principle

Considering the limited nature of the Petitioner's grievance, the Court disposed of the writ application at the stage of admission rather than adjudicating the substantive pay-equality claim.

Key takeaways

Opposite Party No.1 is directed to consider the Petitioner's representation under Annexure-11 within a period of eight weeks from the date of production of certified copy of this order.ratio¶29
Opposite Party No.1 shall dispose of the representation of the Petitioner under Annexure-11 by passing a speaking and reasoned order.ratio¶29
The decision so taken by Opposite Party No.1 shall be communicated to the Petitioner within a week thereof.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Orissa High Court at Cuttack (A.K. Mohapatra, J.), WP(C) No.16273 of 2026, order dated 22.06.2026: Petitioner Nilima Rani Pandit sought a writ of mandamus under Article 226 of the Constitution directing the Opposite Parties (State of Odisha; Addl. Chief Secretary, Finance Deptt.; Principal, Govt. Science College, Chatrapur) to extend Grade Pay of Rs.5400/- and Rs.6600/- after completion of 20/30 years of service w.e.f. 01.01.2013, as extended to similarly placed Demonstrators, and to pay arrear dues, invoking Articles 14 and 16 and relying on office orders (Annexures 1-8) and prior orders of the Court (Annexure-9 series); her representation dated 11.03.2026 (Annexure-11) had not been considered. Considering the limited nature of the grievance, the Court disposed of the writ application at the admission stage, directing Opposite Party No.1 to consider the representation within eight weeks of production of certified copy, dispose of it by a speaking and reasoned order, and communicate the decision to the Petitioner within a week thereof. The substantive entitlement was not adjudicated.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK WP(C) No.16273 of 2026

Nilima Rani Pandit

..... Petitioner

Represented by Adv. - Sandhyarani Pani

-versus-

1) State Of Odisha

addl. chief secretary to govt. finance deptt. govt. of odisha, bhubaneswar-1 3) principal,govt. science college, chatrapur

..... Opposite Parties

Represented by Adv. –

Mr. D.K. Sahoo, AGA

CORAM:

MR. JUSTICE ADITYA KUMAR MOHAPATRA

ORDER

22.06.2026

Order No.

1. This matter is taken up through Hybrid Arrangement (Virtual /Physical Mode).

Heard learned counsel for the Petitioner as well as learned Additional Govt. Advocate for the State-Opposite Parties. Perused the writ application as well as the documents annexed thereto.

The Petitioner has filed the present writ application with the following prayer:

“It is therefore, prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be graciously pleased to issue writ/writs, order/orders and direction!! directions under Article-226 of the Constitution of India and more particularly to issue:

1. Writ of Mandamus directing Opposite Parties to extend Grade Pay of Rs.5400/- and Rs. 6600/-after completion of 20/30 years of service w.e.f 01.01.2013, as

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extended to similarly placed Demonstrators in similar footing and calculate & pay the arrear dues to the petitioner forthwith in view of the office orders under Annexures- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 in the light of orders of this Hon'ble Court under annexure-9 & 9 series following Articles-14 and 16 of Constitution of India:

And pass such other order orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case in the interest of justice.

And for this act of kindness, petitioner shall ever pray.”

It is stated by the learned counsel for the Petitioner that although the Petitioner has approached the Opposite Party No.1 by filing a representation dated 11.03.2026 at Annexure-11 to the writ application however the same has not been considered in its proper prospective. She further contended that in the case of similarly situated persons the State Government has already considered their prayer and favourable orders have been passed in respect of such persons. Being aggrieved by the conduct of the Opposite party No.1, the Petitioner has approached this Court by filing the present writ application.

Learned counsel for the State on the other hand contended that he has no instruction in the matter, however in the event the representation of the Petitioner is still pending before the Opposite Party No.1 for consideration, he will have no objection, if the Opposite Party No.1 is directed by this Court to consider and dispose of such application within a stipulated period of time.

Considering the limited nature of grievance of the Petitioner, the writ application is disposed of at the stage of

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admission with a direction to the Opposite Party No.1 to consider the representation of the Petitioner under Annexure-11 within a period of eight weeks from the date of production of certified copy of this order. The Opposite Party No.1 shall do well to dispose of the representation of the Petitioner under Annexure-11 by passing a speaking and reasoned order. The decision so taken by the Opposite Party No.1 be also communicated to the Petitioner within a week thereof.

With the aforesaid observation/ direction, the writ application stands disposed of.

Issue urgent certified copy of this order as per Rules.

( A.K. Mohapatra ) Judge

Sisir

Signature Not Verified

Digitally Signed Signed by: SISIR KUMAR SETHI Designation: PERSONAL ASSISTANT Reason: Authentication Location: ORISSA HIGH COURT Date: 23-Jun-2026 18:03:32

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