Authority: Supreme Court of India

Order Date: 15-07-2026

Case Overview

  • Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No. 18502/2022, arising from the impugned final judgment dated 01‑08‑2022 in LPA No. 1631/2019 of the Patna High Court, filed by Pankaj Kumar against Jagaran Prakashan Limited & Ors.
  • Multiple interim applications were listed, including IA No. 194444/2023 (permission to file additional documents), IA No. 224532/2023 (stay application), IA No. 268167/2023 (early hearing), IA No. 251263/2025 (early hearing), IA No. 85629/2026 (exemption from filing C/C of the impugned judgment), IA No. 85630/2026 (exemption from filing O.T.), IA No. 85631/2026 (permission to file synopsis and list of dates), and IA No. 157488/2022 (exemption from filing O.T.).
  • The matter was heard before a bench of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Aravind Kumar and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vipul M. Pancholi.

Court Orders

  • For SLP(C) No. 24361‑24364/2023: The Court observed that sufficient time has elapsed without disposal and directed Jagaran Prakashan Limited to deposit the award amount due to Respondent No. 1 (Amar Kumar Singh) and Respondent No. 2 (Kishan Lal) within four weeks from the date of the order. The deposit shall be kept in short‑term Fixed Deposits, and the successful party will be entitled to the amount with accrued interest. The Court expressly stated that this direction is not a concession and will not bind any pending proceedings. The workman’s prayer for immediate release of the amount was rejected.
  • For SLP(C) No. 10629/2026: The petitioner’s counsel was granted three weeks to file a rejoinder affidavit, and the Court directed that all matters be listed for hearing after the expiry of this period.

Final Outcome

  • Jagaran Prakashan Limited must deposit the award amount within four weeks, held in short‑term FD with interest, without it constituting a concession; the workman’s request for release was denied. The petitioner received a three‑week extension to file a rejoinder affidavit, after which the case will be listed for further hearing.

Topics: Court Order, Labour Award