In a significant development, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has breathed new life into a long-pending legal battle involving employees of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali. The Division Bench, comprising Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Meenakshi Mehta, while hearing LPA No. 1022 of 2025 filed by Nisha Sharma and others against NIPER, directed the Institute to submit a reply through its director and ordered his appearance at the next hearing scheduled for April 22, 2025.
In an extraordinary move, the court also condoned a delay of 2,272 days—over six years—in filing the appeal, marking a rare judicial concession underscoring the gravity of the case. Legal experts note that such condonation is virtually unprecedented, especially in administrative matters.
At the heart of the case lies a long-standing grievance involving the non-implementation of a Board of Governors’ decision. The appellants, Nisha Sharma and others, had earlier secured a favorable judgment from a Single Judge on October 22, 2018, which struck down an earlier decision by the then then-officiating director Dr. Kamlesh Kumar Bhutani. However, the order failed to explicitly direct the institute to act, resulting in a bureaucratic loophole that stalled its enforcement.
The current Director, Dr. Dulal Panda, has since not implemented the judgment. In light of this, the Division Bench has invoked Article 215 of the Constitution—granting it powers to ensure compliance with its orders—and taken Suo Motto cognizance of the matter.
“It is clear the appellants cannot be left remediless,” observed the court, as it underlined the failure of successive internal appeals and petitions due to the absence of a specific direction in the 2018 ruling.
The legal battle also casts a shadow on internal governance at NIPER. I, Dr. Raghuram Rao Akkinepally, a former acting head of the institute, had made early efforts to address employee grievances by initiating a Rapid Grievance Redressal Committee (RGRC). He reportedly resolved at least one case through this internal mechanism, aiming to reduce litigation and foster a culture of resolution. However, his conciliatory approach did not sit well with the then-chairman of the Board of Governors, Dr. V.M. Katoch, and Mr. Rajneesh Tingal, former Joint Secretary at the Department of Pharmaceuticals.
With the High Court now demanding accountability and the Director’s presence, I am rather delighted as the case is expected to set a precedent for the treatment of institutional decisions and the rights of employees in government-aided autonomous bodies. I gather the matter will come up again for hearing on April 22, 2025.
