University Must Release 75% Arrears Pending Pay Verification; State Must Process Online Salary Fixation Promptly.

The petitioner, an employee of Patna University, sought a direction for salary fixation under the 7th Revised Pay Scale in the grade pay of Rs. 1,800/-, effective from 2014, along with ACP benefits and arrears

The University acknowledged that Rs. 5,23,081/- was due to the petitioner for the period from February 2002 to March 2019

While the University paid 50% of this amount (Rs. 2,61,540/-) from its internal resources, it withheld the remainder citing the absence of a "pay verification slip" from the State Government and the petitioner’s failure to upload documents to the government portal

1. Whether the University is justified in withholding 50% of the admitted arrears pending the issuance of a pay verification slip by the State Government

2. Whether the State Government is required to facilitate the online verification process and release the requisite funds upon completion of such verification

The court primarily applied the State Government’s administrative directions regarding the disbursement of arrears to University employees.

These guidelines stipulate that in the absence of a pay verification certificate, Universities must pay 75% of the admitted arrears to the employee, with the remaining 25% to be released only after the receipt of the pay verification certificate

The Court noted that the University had explicitly admitted the petitioner's entitlement to Rs. 5,23,081/- in its supplementary counter affidavit

The Court observed that this action was contrary to the State Government's own policy, which mandates a 75% disbursement of admitted arrears even in the absence of a verification certificate

To resolve the deadlock regarding the verification slip, the Court accepted the State’s submission that the petitioner should be permitted to upload his documents to the Education Department’s portal for formal processing

The Court disposed of the writ petition with specific directions: (i) The University must pay an additional 25% of the admitted arrears... (ii) The petitioner must upload his documents to the Education Department portal; (iii) The State Government must issue the pay verification slip within four weeks... and (iv) The remaining 25% of the arrears must be released by the University and State within six weeks following the issuance of the verification slip