Cuttack, July 27: Orissa High Court has allowed the state government one more week for giving clarification on a PIL seeking intervention against diversion of unreserved posts to reserved category during recruitment of candidates in the Orissa Civil Service (OCS).
The two-judge bench of Chief Justice V.Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra set the one-week deadline after the state counsel sought more time to file the counter affidavit when the case was mentioned yesterday. The court said the PIL would be taken up for hearing after submission of a reply by the state government.
The PIL has questioned the legality of diversion of unreserved posts to reserved category and sought quashing of the appointment of candidates belonging to the reserved category in unreserved posts.
The petition has also sought setting aside the appointment in Class I and Class II post candidates who were selected for Class II posts and specially declared gazetted posts respectively during recruitment of 378 candidates in the OCS.
Advocate Saharada Prasad Mahanti had filed the PIL. The high court had earlier issued notices returnable within two weeks to the to the chief secretary, secretary of the general administration department, secretary of the revenue department and Orissa Public Service Commission (OPSC).
While filing the reply, the court also directed the state government to furnish the list of 378 candidates who were appointed on OPSC’s recommendation.
OPSC had on June 11, 2010, recommended 378 candidates. It recommended 70 scheduled caste candidates against 62 vacancies and 122 socially and economically backward class (SEBC) candidates against 40 vacancies. As a result, eight scheduled caste candidates and 82 SEBC candidates had been included in the unreserved category.
The selection process was undertaken by OPSC after inviting applications in October 2006 for recruitment in the posts and services in Category – I (Class II posts of Orissa Administrative Service, Orissa Finance Service, Orissa Cooperative Service, Orissa Employment Service and Orissa Welfare Service) with Rs 6,500 basic pay scale and in services in Category II (Specially Declared Gazetted Sub-Registrar and Orissa Settlement & Consolidation Service) with basic pay scale of Rs 5,500.
The general administration department issued on August 2010 a press note on “Appointment of candidates recruited in Orissa Civil Service – 2006”. “On account of revision in cadres, pay class at the stage of initial recruitment in some services have undergone changes,” the press note said.
