CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday directed the chairman of Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) to convene a meeting of the commission and take a decision on the peculiar case of appointment of dental surgeons in 2018-19.
The high court issued the direction after taking note of OPSC’s affidavit, facts emerging from which showed an ‘extreme situation’.
The division bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh and Justice Savitri Ratho directed the OPSC to “take a different decision as to what it proposes to do in light of the admitted fact to the effect that persons of lower merit are working as dental surgeons based on the recommendations of the commission whereas persons with higher score have not been recommended”.
Let such meeting be convened within one week, the bench said and fixed September 11 for final hearing on the matter. The state counsel was also asked to take instructions from the government on the problem.
In the affidavit, OPSC secretary Satyabrata Ray stated that the commission had made two recommendations to the state government regarding appointment of dental surgeons in Group-A (Junior) of Odisha Medical Services (Dental) cadre posts in 2018-19. While one recommendation was made on the basis of pre-revised cut-off mark, the other was made after revision of cut-off marks on the basis of the expert committee report.
“Due to this, some of the candidates, whose names are not within the revised cut-off marks, are working as dental surgeon basing on earlier recommendation made by the commission,” Ray admitted in the affidavit.
He also admitted that due to the two recommendations, 43 candidates, who have secured more marks in post revision than the last candidate of the pre-revised merit list, had not been recommended.
Eleven candidates, whose names were earlier recommended by the Commission were not coming within the revised select list prepared on the basis of the expert committee report.
“Consequent upon the revision of marks, eight candidates whose names were not found in the earlier select list, have found place in the revised select list. Accordingly, the commission intimated their names to the Health and Family Welfare department on November 4, 2022 for appointment,” the OPSC secretary further stated.