The impugned advertisement is legal, fair and in consonance with the 2021 Rules. The Petitioners cannot be granted any relief by way of a Writ and the present Writ Petitions are liable to be dismissed.

JUDGMENT

Dr. S.K. Panigrahi, J. - The above-mentioned Writ Petitions pertain to similar questions of law and facts, ergo; the batch of Writ Petitions were heard together. This Court deems it appropriate to decide W.P.(C) No.39032 of 2021 first and the outcome of the said Writ Petition shall be applicable to the other similarly placed Writ Petitions.

Factual Matrix of the Case:

2. The present Writ Petitioners are serving as Assistant Professors in various disciplines at Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals across the State of Odisha. They possess requisite qualifications and have been appointed on an ad-hoc/ contractual/ deputation basis for a monthly remuneration of Rs.60,000/-.

3. In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India and in supersession of the Odisha Medical Education Service (Method of Recruitment and Condition of Service) Rules, 2013 and Odisha Medical Service and Training Class-1 (Recruitment of the Senior and Junior Administrative Post) 1975, the Odisha Medical Education Service (Method of Recruitment and Condition of Service) Rules, 2021 were introduced to regulate the service of the persons appointed to the Odisha Medical Education Services.

4. The present Writ Petition(s) challenge the impugned Advertisement No.19 of 2021-2022 dated 10.11.2021 for recruitment to 381 posts of Assistant Professor (Broad Specialty) in Group - A under the Odisha Medical Education Service cadre and posting in Government MCHs of the State under the Health and Family Welfare Department.

5. The present Writ Petitioners mainly assail the impugned advertisement on the ground that their candidature should be adjudged as per the Odisha Medical Education Service (Method of Recruitment and Condition of Service) Rules, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as 2013 Rules'), however, the Opp. Parties are considering their candidatures according to Odisha Medical Education Service (Method of Recruitment and Condition of Service) Rules, 2021 (hereinafter referred to as 2021 Rules') instead.

II. Petitioners' submissions:

6. Learned counsels for the Petitioners earnestly made the following submissions in support of their contentions:

(i) Mr. Budhadeb Routray, Sr. Advocate appearing for one of the Petitioners submits that Rule 4 of the 2013 Rules provided the eligibility criteria for direct recruitment for the post of Assistant Professor. The said eligibility criteria prescribed that the candidate must possess three years of experience as a Sr. Resident from a Medical Institution recognized by the MCI. Nevertheless, the 2021 Rules updated the aforementioned experience requirement to one year. Furthermore, in previous advertisements, there was a provision for career assessment whereby an additional weightage of 3% of marks for each completed year of service (subject to a maximum of 15% of marks) was being awarded to the in-service ad hoc and contractual doctors. But, in the impugned advertisement, no such allowance has been provided to the in- service candidates, thereby rendering the period of service provided by the Petitioners useless and putting them in a disadvantageous position.

(ii) A matter similar to the present one was the subject matter of challenge before the Supreme Court vide SLP (C) No.17074-17075 of 2015. The said Special Leave Petition was filed with respect to the applicability of the Odisha Medical Education Service (Method of Recruitment and Condition of Service) Rules, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as 2009 Rules') against the applicability of the 2013 Rules. The Supreme Court vide its order dated 10.8.2015 altered the final judgment and order dated 24.04.2015 passed in W.P.(C) No.11985 of 2013 and judgment and order dated 03.06.2015 passed in W.P.(C) No.9991 of 2015 by this Court. The directions of this Court were as under:

'(a) one for the selection of Assistant Professors confining the ineligible candidates selected and posted as Assistant Professor on ad-hoc/contractual basis but in strict t