J U D G M E N T

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Petitioners in W.P.(C) No.1054/2026 were appointed as teaching faculty in the Bishop Jerome Institute, School of Engineering, Architecture and Management, Kollam. They are aggrieved by non disbursal of their deferred salary as directed in the order dated 17.10.2025 of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University.

2. The petitioner in W.P.(C) No.5376/2026 is the Manager of the Bishop Jerome Institute. The petitioner seeks to quash the order dated 17.10.2025 and to direct the Appellate Authority of Grievance Redressal Committee to consider Ext.P3 appeal afresh. The parties and exhibits in these writ petitions are referred to in this judgment as they are arrayed/marked in W.P.(C) No.5376/2026, for convenience.

3. In W.P.(C) No.5376/2026, the petitioner-Manager states that during Covid-19 pandemic, the Institute remained closed. There was no income for the Institute. However, partial salary was paid to the staff. Respondents 6 to 15 resigned from the service of the Institution after 2021. They are now gainfully employed elsewhere in India and abroad. They sought release of the deferred salary.

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