Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court has admitted a special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Orissa High Court order of January 15 on the selection of candidates for 621 posts of assistant executive engineers (AEEs) by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC), but refused to grant a stay on the recruitment process.
In an advertisement, the OPSC had invited applications for posts of AEEs in civil (580) and mechanical (41) branches on December 28, 2023, and the last date of submission was February 26, 2024. Under the Odisha Engineering Service (Methods of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Amendment Rules, 2023, instead of objective written test, selection was on the basis of the highest of the valid Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) score obtained by the candidates in the three years preceding the date of advertisement (including the year of advertisement).
Acting on a bunch of petitions, the High Court on January 15, 2025, directed the OPSC to extend the application deadline to enable candidates who were otherwise eligible by age and educational qualification as per the original cut-off date to apply after appearing in the GATE examination.
Complying with the HC direction, OPSC on April 11, 2025, notified rescheduled dates allowing submission of applications for the posts from April 22 to May 8.
However, one Ritesh Kumar Mohapatra filed the SLP against the January 15 HC order in the Supreme Court. The SLP was taken up on June 3.
After a preliminary hearing, the two-judge bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Augustine George Masir said, “Issue notice (to state government) returnable in the week commencing August 11. However, there shall be no stay on the recruitment process.”
In a related development, a batch of petitions filed in the Orissa High Court have questioned the rescheduled dates notified by the OPSC for submission of applications for the AEE posts. The petitioners approached the court claiming that they were deprived of an opportunity to appear in the GATE-2025 examination as the last date to apply had already lapsed by the time the HC issued its judgment on January 15, 2025.
The vacation bench of Justice A K Mohapatra in an interim order on May 26 directed OPSC to continue with the recruitment process. However, a post befitting the qualification of each of the petitioners shall not be filled up till the next date.
The matter is scheduled for hearing in the week beginning July 7, 2025. OPSC and state government have been directed to file counter affidavits.
