The central legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation and applicability of the Amendment Rules 2022 and the subsequent clarifications in determining the eligibility of the petitioners for age relaxation in the recruitment process.

JUDGMENT :

S.K. Panigrahi, J.

1. In both the writ petitions filed herein, the petitioners have challenged the action of the opposite parties in not extending the benefits of age relaxation in terms of the Odisha Civil Service (Fixation of Upper Age Limit) Amendment Rules, 2022 while submitting the online application forms for the post of Odisha Education Service Officers in Group-B under School and Mass Education Department.

2. The present petitioners are serving as Assistant Teachers in Secondary Schools and they eminently satisfy the eligibility criteria in terms of the educational qualification prescribed in the advertisement No.15 of 2021-22 issued by the Odisha Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as “the OPSC” for brevity). However, they failed to apply online due to fixation of upper age limit to 32 years. Therefore, the present petitioners along with other similarly situated aspirants who are at present serving under School and Mass Education Department had filed a Writ Petition bearing W.P.(C) No.38527/2021 challenging the very same advertisement on the ground of relaxation of upper age limit and praying for a direction to the Opp. Parties for relaxation of upper age limit. In fact, after an interval of 8 years, the advertisement for the post of Odisha Education Service Officers in Group-B has heralded a new hope for the petitioners. In the said Writ Petition, this Court while disposing of the Writ Petition vide order dated 08.12.2021 has directed to make individual representation afresh before the authority enclosing the copies of the documents sought to be relied upon by the petitioners for consideration of their grievances. The appropriate authority on receipt of such representation (s) along with the certified copy of the order passed by this Court, was directed to consider the same and dispose of as per law, as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of four months from the date of communication of that order.

3. While the matter stood thus, the General Administration & Public Grievance Department, Government of Odisha (hereinafter referred to as “the GA Department” for brevity) was pleased to amend the Odisha Civil Service (Fixation of Upper Age Limit) Rules, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as “the Rules” for brevity), namely, Odisha Civil Service (Fixation of Upper Age Limit) Amendment Rules, 2022 (hereinafter referred to as “the Amendment Rules” for brevity) vide Notification dated 11th January 2022, wherein the proviso to Rule 2, the following proviso has been inserted namely :

“Provided further that for advertisements made during calendar years 2021, 2022 and 2023, the said upper age limit shall be thirty-eight years.”

After such amendment, the petitioners became eligible to apply for the post of Odisha Education Service Officers in Group-B but they were not allowed to make online applications due to the clarification letter dated 12.01.2022 issued by the GA Department, wherein it has been requested to the Secretaries of OPSC, OSSC and OSSSC to take action in accordance with the innate spirit the clarification as follows:

“It is therefore clarified that this notification shall be applicable in those cases where the last date of application for recruitment to any post as per the advertisement issued is still not over, as on the date of issue of this notification.”

Despite the petitioners are squarely covered under the aforesaid amendment, they are being deprived of the opportunity to apply online applications for the post of Odisha Education Service Officers in Group-B.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioners humbly submitted that the clarification issued by the GA Department is contrary to the Amendment Rules. The GA department has no such authority to interpret the Amended Rules, wherein it has been specifically mentioned that the upper age limit shall be 38 years for the advertisements made during the calendar years 2021, 2022 and 2023. Therefore, the action of the GA Department in issui