Research institute may lose funding if salary dues not cleared in 3 weeks

The Supreme Court has directed the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) – a Chandigarh-based autonomous research institute — to clear the salary dues of its employees from April 2021 to March 2023 in three weeks from its own resources.

“In case, CRRID fails to release this amount in favour of the employees, we direct the ICSSR (the Indian Council of Social Science Research) to withhold all further grant-in-aid in favour of CRRID,” said a Bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice K Vinod Chandran.

“The CRRID will not only have to release the amount in favour of employees but shall also file a compliance report before the ICSSR stating that this has been done within the stipulated period. This we do as we cannot lose sight of the fact that anomalies have been committed at the end of CRRID,” the Bench said.

“We make it clear that what has been determined in the case of ICSSR as to its liabilities of payment of grants will also apply to the State of Punjab as well,” it said, allowing the ICSSR’s appeal.

Writing the judgment for the Bench, Justice Dhulia directed the top court’s Registry to release the amount deposited by the council in the court, in favour of the council along with the interest, if any, within a week.

“The ICCSR and the State of Punjab are at liberty to move applications before the High Court to get back the amount, if any, deposited by them and the High Court shall decide such applications in the light of this order,” the Bench said.

The order came on the council’s petition challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s May 16, 2024, order reiterating the findings of a Single Judge and directing that the amount deposited by it before the Registry of the High Court be disbursed in favour of the employees as their salaries.

The Bench held that the research institute was not an authority within the purview of Article 12 of the Constitution. “Merely because CRRID is under the control of an authority (as defined under Article 12) will not make CRRID an authority. In fact, this is neither the case of the respondents-employees nor does CRRID in any manner assert itself as an authority,” it said.

The ICSSR — a society established in 1969 and registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 runs under the financial and administrative control of the Union Ministry of Education, while CRRID – set up in 1978 — is administered, directed and controlled by its Governing Body having a maximum of 12 members, including seven life members.

The council provides grants to institutions involved in social science research and one of its aims is to conduct and promote research in various subjects including social sciences. CRRID used to receive 45% grants from ICSSR and a similar 45% from the State of Punjab. The remaining 10% was generated by the research institute through its own resources.