Disposed¶28

National Institute v. Asst.Labour Officer

Orissa HC23 Mar 2026WP(C)/24578/2014

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Keywords: W.P.(C) 24578/2014; NIST Berhampur; High Court of Orissa; Payment of Wages Act 1936 Section 15(2); 2(C) CC Case No.1191 of 2014; S.D.J.M. Berhampur; summons dated appearance 17.11.2014; disposal for non-prosecution/non-appearance; loss of interest in prosecuting; interim order 22.12.2014 vacated; Orissa High Court Rules; order sheet alteration without endorsement; Registrar (Judicial) directive; order dated 18.02.2026 corrections; Justice Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo.

What did the court decide?

No substantive relief to the petitioner; the interim order dated 22.12.2014 stands vacated and merges with the final order of disposal. ¶28

National Institute Vs Asst.Labour Officer — Orissa HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

No substantive relief to the petitioner; the interim order dated 22.12.2014 stands vacated and merges with the final order of disposal.

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Issue for consideration

Whether the writ petition, pending since 2014 with repeated non-appearance of the petitioner and no progress for over eleven years, should be finally disposed of rather than retained in the list.

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Court's answer

The writ petition stands disposed of in view of the petitioner's non-appearance and apparent loss of interest in prosecuting the matter pending since presentation on 15.12.2014.

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Ratio / Principle

The interim order dated 22.12.2014 stands vacated and merges with the final order of disposal.

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Key takeaways

Correction of the order number in the order sheet dated 18.02.2026 (round mark on '01' and '04' written) without any endorsement or initial is a practice not in accordance with the Orissa High Court Rules, and may have been done by inadvertence or otherwise.obiter¶31
The matter is placed before the learned Registrar (Judicial) to instruct the Superintendent, ASOs and other officials handling case briefs; necessary corrections shall be carried out in the order sheet in accordance with the rules, and the third paragraph of the order dated 18.02.2026 shall be renumbered as paragraph No.3.obiter¶32

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

W.P.(C) No.24578 of 2014 — National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), Berhampur v. Assistant Labor Officer cum Inspector, Berhampur (High Court of Orissa at Cuttack, Judge Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo, order dated 23.03.2026). A writ petition pending since presentation on 15.12.2014, challenging initiation of 2(C) CC Case No.1191 of 2014 under sub-section 2 of section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 before the Authority-cum-S.D.J.M., Berhampur and the summons fixing appearance on 17.11.2014, was disposed of because none appeared for the petitioner on repeated listings and, after notice of 22.12.2014 by a Coordinate Bench, nothing happened for more than eleven years; the petitioner apparently lost interest in prosecuting the matter. The interim order dated 22.12.2014 stood vacated and merged with the final order of disposal. Separately, noting that someone had altered the order number in the order sheet dated 18.02.2026 by putting a round mark on '01' and writing '04' without any endorsement or initial — a practice not in accordance with the Orissa High Court Rules — the Court placed the matter before the learned Registrar (Judicial) to instruct the Superintendent, ASOs and other officials handling case briefs, and directed necessary corrections in the order sheet, including renumbering the third paragraph of the 18.02.2026 order as paragraph No.3.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK

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W.P.(C) No.24578 of 2014

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National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), Berhampur

Petitioner

None

-versus-

Assistant Labor Officer – …. Opp. Party cum- Inspector, Berhampur

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Mr. D.N. Lenka, AGA

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CORAM: JUSTICE MRUGANKA SEKHAR SAHOO

ORDER

23.03.2026

Order No.

( Hybrid Mode )

05. 1 . The matter has been listed under the heading of “For referral to the Special Mediation Drive 2.0Mediation for the Nation”.

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2. The writ application is pending since 2014 being presented before this Court on 15.12.2014.

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3. None appears for the petitioner when the matter is called.

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4. None had appeared when the matter was taken up earlier on 18.02.2026.

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5. By order dated 18.02.2026, the following was directed:

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“2. None appears for the petitioner when the matter is called.

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3. The matter shall be listed on 23.03.2026 under the same heading indicating that the matter shall be finally disposed of. The matter to retain its position in the list.”

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Page 1 of 3

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6. Learned Addl. Government Advocate refers to the earlier non-appearance for the petitioner when the matter was listed.

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7. The petitioner institution challenged the initiation of the proceeding pursuant to the 2(C) CC Case No.1191 of 2014 before the Authority under the Payment of Wages Act –cum- S.D.J.M., Berhampur and summon issued by the learned Authority –cumCourt for fixing a date of appearance to 17.11.2014.

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The proceeding was initiated under sub-section 2 section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 against the Director of the petitioner-institute pursuant to a complaint lodged by the Assistant Labor Officer –cumInspector under the Payment of Wages Act.

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After issuance of notice by order dated 22.12.2014 of the Coordinate Bench, nothing has happened for the last more than eleven years.

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Apparently, the petitioner has lost interest in prosecuting the matter.

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8. In view of the above, the petition stands disposed of.

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The interim order dated 22.12.2014 stands vacated and merges with the final order of disposal.

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9. On perusal of the order dated 18.02.2026, it appears that typographical error has crept into the said order. Someone has corrected the order number by putting a round mark on ‘01’ and has written ‘04’ without making any endorsement or initial.

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Page 2 of 3

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Such practice is not in accordance with the Orissa High Court Rules. It may have been done by inadvertence or otherwise.

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The matter shall be placed before the learned Registrar (Judicial) to instruct the Superintendent as well as ASOs and other officials handling the case briefs.

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10. The paragraph numbers mentioned in the order dated 18.02.2026 are “1, 2 and 2”.

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The 3^rd paragraph shall be renumbered as “paragraph No.3” instead of “paragraph No.2”.

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Necessary corrections shall be carried out in the order sheet in accordance with the rules.

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(Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo)

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Judge

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Rajesh