The court clarified that subject-wise qualifying marks cannot be enforced post-examination as it contradicts the established selection rules, emphasizing the necessity for procedural clarity and compliance.

JUDGMENT :

A.K. MOHAPATRA, J.

1. By filing the present writ petition, the Petitioners, who are 16 in number, have questioned the selection process adopted by the Odisha Public Service Commission (in short ‘OPSC’) while short listing the candidates, who had submitted their candidature pursuant to Advertisement No.26 of 2021-22 under Annexure-1 issued by OPSC on the principal ground that the procedure adopted by the OPSC for second stage of selection, i.e., viva voce test as illegal, arbitrary and dehors the rules. Moreover, they have also prayed for quashing the merit/select (shortlisted) list published in Notice dated 07.11.2022 by the OPSC for documents verification and skill test under Annexure-5 by declaring that the procedure followed by OPSC in shortlisting the candidates for recruitment to the post of ASO is illegal. Further, they have prayed for a direction to the Opposite Parties to prepare the fresh merit/select list of candidates by taking into consideration the total aggregate marks in all subjects of the written test conducted by OPSC without insisting upon the minimum qualifying marks in each subject.

2. The Petitioners have assailed the selection process adopted by OPSC mainly on the ground that while conducting the recruitment test, particularly the written test, the OPSC has not followed the relevant rules while selecting the candidates for appointment to the post of ASO and, as such, the merit list prepared by OPSC is illegal, arbitrary and contrary to the rules. Further, they have challenged the action of the Opposite Parties on the ground that the same is contrary to the extant rules, irrational and malice in law as the fixation of minimum qualifying mark in respect of each subject in the written test conducted by the OPSC was introduced only after evaluation of the answer script and without there being any provision for applying such minimum qualifying mark subject-wise while conducting the recruitment test by the OPSC.

3. The factual matrix involved in the present writ petition, in a narrow compass, is that an advertisement No.26 of 2021- 2022 was published on 31.12.2021 by the OPSC inviting application from the eligible candidates for recruitment to the post of Assistant Section Officer in Group-B of Odisha Secretariat Service under Home Department. Total posts which was advertised to be filled up were 796 posts of ASO in the scale of pay of Rs.35,400/- in Level-9, Cell-1 as per ORSP, Rules, 2017. Pursuant to the aforesaid advertisement under Annexure-1, the Petitioners having eligibility criteria to participate in the recruitment process applied for the said post by submitting duly filled in application forms. After initial scrutiny of the applications forms, the Petitioners were issued with admission certificate by the Opposite Party No.3 fixing 21.08.2022 as the date for conduction of the written test. Thereafter, on 20.08.2022, another notice was issued postponing the written test to 27.08.2022.

4. It is apt to mention here that the recruitment to the post of ASO as advertised under Annexure-1 is governed under the Odisha Secretariat Service (Method of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2016 (in short “the Rules, 2016”). On analysis of the aforesaid Rules, 2016, it reveals that Rule-4(1) provides that the recruitment in respect of ASO as specified in Clause-(a) of Rule-3 is to be done by means of competitive examination to be conducted by the Commission in accordance with Rule-6. Further Rule-6 provides that the Home Department shall communicate to the Commission the total numbers of vacancies to be fil