The main legal point established in the judgment is that eligibility criteria for the post of Assistant Professor in General Surgery, as per the advertisement and Rules, 2009, require three years teaching experience from an institution recognized by the Medical Council of India.

JUDGMENT :

B.R. SARANGI, J.

The petitioner, who was an applicant for the post of Assistant Professor in General Surgery, pursuant to advertisement no.15 of 2015-16 dated 23.11.2015 at Annexure-1 and corrigenda dated 18.12.2015, 03.02.2016 and 25.05.2016 at Annexure-2 series, by means of this writ petition, seeks to quash the order dated 12.12.2017 passed in O.A. No. 2836 (C) of 2016 at Annexure-10, whereby the Odisha Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, Cuttack, while declining to interfere with the action of the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC)-opposite party no.1 in rejecting the candidature of the petitioner for want of three years teaching experience, has dismissed the Original Application. The petitioner also seeks direction to the opposite parties to treat him as an eligible candidate for the post of Assistant Professor in General Surgery.

2. The factual matrix of the case, in a nutshell, is that petitioner completed his Post Graduate in General Surgery from SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack in the year 2009. On being duly selected, he was appointed as Senior Resident in Surgery w.e.f. 07.01.2010 in VSS Medical College, Burla, where he continued till 12.10.2010. Thereafter, petitioner worked as Senior Resident in Surgical Oncology in Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre, Cuttack from 12.10.2010 to 04.08.2012. Then, he came to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, where he worked as Senior Resident from 04.08.2012 to 04.08.2015.

The Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC)-opposite party no.1 issued advertisement no.15 of 2015-16 for recruitment to the posts of Assistant Professors in Super Speciality, Speciality and Dentistry in different disciplines for Government Medical Colleges under Orissa Medical Education Services (Method of Recruitment and Conditions of Services) Rules, 2009 (for short “Rules, 2009”). Thereafter, Rules, 2009 were superseded and subsequently Orissa Medical Education Services (Method of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2013 (for short “Rules, 2013”) came into existence on 20.12.2013. As dispute cropped up as to whether the recruitment to the posts of Assistant Professor would govern under the new Rules, 2013 or the old Rules, 2009, several applications were filed before the State Administrative Tribunal as well this Court. The matter having been disposed of by this Court, parties aggrieved by the said order, moved to the Supreme Court. As such, the matter was finally settled by the Supreme Court, vide judgment dated 10.08.2015 passed in Civil Appeal No.6157-6158 of 2015 (arising out of SLP No.17074-17075 of 2015). The issue with regard to applicability of old Rules, 2009 or new Rules, 2013 having been settled that the selection for the post of Assistant Professor would be governed under the old Rules, 2009, in pursuance of the order of the apex Court, opposite party no.1 issued advertisement vide Annexure-1 for filling up of 262 posts of Assistant Professors in Speciality, apart from other posts, inviting applications from the eligible candidates to submit online applications by 23.12.2015 to be followed by submission of documents by 11.01.2016. The advertisement also prescribed the method of selection, according to which selection would be made taking into account the academic career and performance of the candidates in the viva voce test. So far as eligibility criteria are concerned, it was stipulated in the advertisement to the following effect:-

“ELIGIBILITY:-The following categories of persons are eligible to apply for the post of Assistant professors in different disciplines (Super and Dentistry);-

i) Those who has been working as Assistant Professors in the three Government Medical Colleges and SCB Dental College on Ad hoc/Contractual basis since the period prior to 18.12.2013 in the concerned disciplines;

ii) Assistant Professors of any other Specialty on S