Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has issued a notice to the Odisha government over alleged inaction against members of the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) Association and the Orissa Revenue Employees Sangha (ORES), who went on strike in June this year in clear violation of service conduct rules.
While hearing a PIL, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M S Raman directed the state to file its counter-affidavit within one week. The matter will be heard next after the reply is submitted.
The petitioner, Pratap Chandra Sahoo of Cuttack, had sought strict implementation of the Orissa Government Servants’ Conduct Rules, 1959, which prohibit government employees from resorting to any form of strike, and disciplinary action, including wage deduction, dismissal or any other statutory measures, against those who participated in the strike.
Advocate Anup Kumar Mohapatra appeared on behalf of the petitioner while additional government advocate Debashis Tripathy represented the state.
According to the petition, the controversy originated from the assault on OAS officer Ratnakar Sahoo inside the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation office on June 30. Although police promptly arrested corporator Jeevan Rout and his two associates, OAS officers in over 20 districts proceeded on mass casual leave, bringing administrative work to a standstill for two consecutive days, demanding arrest of another corporator, Jagannath Pradhan, who they alleged was the mastermind behind the attack.
The petition contended that the state government took no disciplinary measures against the officer for the blatant breach of conduct rules. This alleged inaction, it claimed, encouraged the Orissa Revenue Employees Sangha to launch a seven-day strike from August 11 in support of a 10-point charter of demands that included pay revision and health insurance coverage.
The bench observed that the serious allegations warranted a formal response from the state before any further hearing.
