Orissa HC issues stay order on recruitment of sepoys, constables
CUTTACK: The process of appointment of 1,360 sepoys/constables across 16 different battalions on the basis of advertisement issued by the State Selection Board (Odisha Police) on August 29, 2024, has hit fresh legal hurdle with the Orissa High Court imposing restriction on it.
The court on Thursday issued the interim stay order on an appeal filed by the state government challenging the order passed by a single judge for one-time six-year relaxation of the upper age limit for candidates seeking to apply for the posts. The single judge issued the order on December 5, 2024, after a batch of petitions by candidates who had crossed the 23 years upper age limit challenged the advertisement.
When the state government’s appeal was taken up for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, advocate general Pitambar Acharya submitted that the recruitment contemplated by the advertisement is for entry into the uniformed force. It is not and cannot be called a civil service. Hence, the single judge erred in law to give direction for revision of the advertisement by issuance of corrigendum, Acharya argued.
Taking note of it, the division bench of Acting Chief Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice MS Sahoo posted the matter to March 20 for further consideration and directed that till adjourned date, no step shall be taken pursuant to the advertisement.
In the December 5 judgment the single judge directed the State Selection Board (Odisha Police) to amend the advertisement it had issued on August 29 to incorporate the relaxation of the upper age limit “for candidates adversely affected by delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the prolonged non-advertisement of posts.”
According to case records, the Orissa Civil Service (Fixation of Upper Age Limit) Rules, 1989, were amended in 2022 to address the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, raising the upper age limit from 32 to 38 years for advertisements issued in 2021, 2022, and 2023. This relaxation was intended to benefit candidates whose recruitment opportunities were affected during the pandemic. But, the benefit of the amended rule, despite its clear applicability was not extended to the recruitment process for sepoys/constables.
Accordingly, the single judge had also directed the selection board to issue a corrigendum reflecting the six-year age relaxation across all categories and accept the applications of over-aged applicants.
Justifying the order, the single judge had stated, “This measure seeks to mitigate the impact of delays and ensure fairness to affected candidates.”