CUTTACK: A PIL for filling up the post of chairman besides all the five posts of members of Odisha State Food Commission (OSFC) which were lying vacant, was disposed of by the Orissa High Court on Monday. The division bench of Acting Chief Justice BR Sarangi and Justice MS Raman disposed of the petition after the state government submitted before the court that all the vacant posts were filled up.
The petition was filed by high court lawyer Prabir Kumar Das on April 24. During that time, the posts of chairman and all five members were lying vacant. While the posts of three of the five members had remained vacant since the inception of the OSFC on March 15, 2016, the remaining two were vacant since September 13, 2020 and September 12, 2022, respectively. The post of chairman has been vacant since April 11, 2023.
Initially, a notice on the issue raised in the PIL was given to the principal secretary Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department on April 25. Later when the state government sought more time to fill up the vacant posts of members, the HC granted the last opportunity on August 31. The post of chairman was filled up on May 11 with the appointment of Abani Kanta Nayak, the HC was then informed.
The notification placed before the court on Monday said all the five posts of members were filled up with the appointment of Dayanidhi Dash, Sanjukta Mohanty, Akshaya Kumar Behera, Priyabrata Samantaray and Premashila Kerketa.
According to Rule 8 of the OSFC Rules, three members including the chairperson are required to be present to form the quorum (at every meeting once in a month) for the Commission to conduct its business.