CUTTACK : The Orissa High Court has held that restricting benefits under rule 3 of Odisha Grant of Weightage in Marks in Recruitment for Short-Term Covid-19 Healthcare Workers Rules, 2022 only to those who rendered services in government hospitals during the pandemic is discriminatory and violates constitutional provisions.
A single judge bench of Justice AK Mohapatra on Friday said, “This court finds absolutely no valid ground and justification for creation of such a sub-class amongst the short-term Covid-19 healthcare workers. Moreover, it is not that the healthcare workers employed in private hospitals during Covid-19 were immune to such pandemic and such workers did not die due to Covid-19 during such pandemic.”
The short-term Covid-19 healthcare workers were engaged in treatment of infected patients during the pandemic by various hospitals including government hospitals and the entire healthcare operation during the pandemic was carried out under the active and direct supervision of the state government. “Therefore, the conduct of the state authorities in restricting the benefit under rule 3 to a certain class of persons without any valid and justifiable reason is definitely in violation of Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India,” Justice Mohapatra ruled.
The ruling came on a batch of petitions which sought the court’s intervention after Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission did not grant 5 per cent weightage mark as was provided under the rule to applicants who had rendered service as healthcare workers at private hospitals during Covid-19 pandemic. The OSSSC had issued advertisement inviting applications for 7,483 posts of nursing officers.
Justice Mohapatra directed the state government to bring an end to the disparity or discrimination between the two classes of healthcare workers, who had rendered their services during the pandemic and extend the benefit of the rules in a manner which would include all categories of persons, who served as short-term Covid-19 healthcare workers for over three months. He directed the authorities to grant the petitioners weightage of mark as provided under rule-3 subject to their eligibility and consider them for appointment as nursing officer pursuant to advertisement of January 21, 2023 and complete the exercise within two months.