Kataka: The Orissa High Court has asked the Odisha government and the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) to explore the feasibility of holding a special examination for candidates who were unable to appear for the Odisha Civil Services (OCS) Main Examination 2025 on October 31 due to Cyclone Arnab and subsequent flash floods in southern Odisha.
Hearing a petition filed by advocate Rashmi Narayan Patnaik, a division bench comprising Justice S K Panigrahi and Justice M S Raman directed the Chief Secretary and the OPSC Secretary to submit detailed, separate affidavits ahead of the next hearing scheduled for November 6.
The bench emphasised that equal participation in competitive public examinations is a fundamental right, noting that an inability to attend caused by an extraordinary natural calamity cannot be treated as a candidate’s voluntary absence.
The court has directed the state government to furnish complete details regarding the districts hit by Cyclone Arnab and flash floods, the exact duration of the disaster, whether any affected regions were formally declared calamity-hit, and reports from district collectors on public transport and movement disruptions. Concurrently, the High Court instructed the OPSC to submit center-wise and date-wise attendance data, including the total number of eligible candidates issued admit cards and specific figures for absent candidates from flood-impacted districts, particularly those assigned to centres in Brahmapur and Jeypore. The commission must also clarify whether it received representations from stranded candidates, the action taken on those grievances, and whether any proposal to postpone the examination at affected centres was considered. Additionally, the OPSC has been asked to state the current status of the recruitment drive, including expected dates for evaluation, result declaration, and personality tests.
Consequently, the court called on both state and OPSC counsel to outline mechanisms to identify and verify genuinely affected aspirants, evaluate the time required for a re-examination, and assess whether conducting a special test would necessitate mark normalisation or cause delays in the broader recruitment schedule.
This legal intervention comes shortly after the state government refused to postpone the recruitment exams despite widespread flooding. Ahead of the October 31 exam date, Odisha Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari rejected demands from opposition leaders to defer the tests, stating that postponing the OPSC examination would delay the recruitment process by at least six months and disappoint candidates who had already prepared. Minister Pujari had assured that local block development officers (BDOs) in flood-affected districts like Ganjam and Gajapati were instructed to facilitate free transportation for examinees to reach their exam centres safely, a move that opposition parties criticised as inadequate given the extent of inundation and road blockages.
Both the government and the OPSC are now expected to present their concrete responses and action plans before the High Court bench on November 6.