Anushka Sharma –
Published On: October 27, 2021 at 10:00 IST
The Orissa High Court overturned the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) order that had quashed the appointment of 378 officers in the Odisha Civil Service (OCS) seven years ago.
SAT invalidated their appointment in Class I and Class II posts on the grounds that the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) advertised for Class II and Specially Declared Gazetted Category posts and selection was made accordingly.
However, a Division Bench led by Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray backed the State government’s decision to appoint 378 individuals to upgrade OCS positions.
The State Administration stated that the 378 individuals were hired at a time when the OCS cadres and pay scales were being revised at the time of their initial recruitment.
As a result, Class II candidates were assigned to Class I positions and Specially Declared Gazetted to Class II positions.
Suravi Mohanty and eight other students in SAT disputed the appointments. The Appointments were cancelled by the SAT on April 23, 2014, but the State government appealed the SAT decision to the Orissa High Court.
The SAT order was also contested in the High Court by a group of petitions, including one filed by 55 Odisha Finance Service (OFS) personnel who were among the 378 candidates.
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