Reservation Not Applicable For GRS Recruitment: High Court Quashes Odisha Govt Guidelines

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has ruled that reservation policy cannot be made applicable for the recruitment of gram rozgar sevaks (GRSs) as they are engaged through contractual appointments.

Single judge bench of Justice Sashikanta Mishra in a recent order held that the GRS is not a civil post under the state. It is also not a service within the meaning of the Odisha Civil Service (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1962.

The HC held that it is an engagement coterminous with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Those engaged As GRS are given consolidated remuneration on executing agreement with undertaking that they shall not claim regular employment under the state.

“In view of the clear finding of this court that GRS is a contractual appointment the principles of reservation would have no application,” Justice Mishra ruled on February 6, while quashing the guidelines that provided for strictly following the provisions of Odisha Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Act, 1975 (ORV Act) while making the GRS appointments.

The Court also quashed an advertisement for appointment of GRSs issued by the collector of Sonepur in June 2018. The district administration had invited applications for 19 posts of GRS in different gram panchayats and five of these were reserved for SC and 14 for ST candidates.

After the final merit list was published in December 2018, a person belonging to general category challenged the guidelines as well as advertisement in the High Court. The principles of reservation could not have been applied to all the 19 posts notified to be filled up, the petition contended. Subsequently, interim restriction was imposed on the appointment process.

Seeking to justify its decision claiming that GRS has become a district cadre post, the state government also claimed that appointment to the post of village-level worker as per the 2008 Rules can be made from amongst GRS to the extent of 30 per cent. However, Justice Mishra held the arguments as both “fallacious” and “absurd.”

The district cadre status is a namesake cadre without the trappings of a civil post or service under the state,” the HC observed and added, “Reference to the 2008 Rules is also fallacious as appointment to the said service from amongst the GRSs would not change their status as contractual appointees.”