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Supreme Court Orders Classification of Cases Following Odisha's Amendment to Rehabilitation Rules

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India, in a significant procedural development concerning the Odisha Civil Services (Rehabilitation Assistance) Rules, 2020, directed the State government to classify numerous pending cases based on a recent amendment to the rules.

A bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar was hearing a batch of Special Leave Petitions, led by State of Odisha & Ors. vs. Jita Luha , which arose from a judgment of the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack. The matters primarily concern claims related to rehabilitation assistance, typically provided to dependents of government employees on compassionate grounds.

During the hearing on April 21, 2025, the Advocate General appearing for the State of Odisha presented a Notification dated April 4, 2025, which amends sub-Rule 9(a) of Rule 6 of the Odisha Civil Services (Rehabilitation Assistance) Rules, 2020.

The State informed the Court that, following this amendment, all cases except those specifically covered by "block grant Schools and Colleges" would now be governed by the updated rules. The State expressed its intention to be "benevolent" in extending the benefit of rehabilitation assistance under the amended framework to eligible individuals.

In light of this development, the Supreme Court issued specific directions to streamline the large number of connected petitions. The Court ordered the State of Odisha to:

1. Prepare a list of cases that are governed by the amended Rules, specifically excluding those related to block grant schools and colleges.
2. Publish this list on the official website of the General Administration Department, Odisha (GA.ODISHA.GOV.IN), on or before April 28, 2025. This is intended to allow counsel for the respondents (petitioners in the High Court) to identify the cases covered by the new rules.
3. Furnish the said list to the Supreme Court Registry immediately after publication, specifically on April 29, 2025.

The Supreme Court Registry was further directed to list the entire batch of cases in two separate categories on the next date of hearing: one bunch comprising cases covered by the amendment to the Rules, and the other containing cases that are not covered.

The matters are now scheduled to be listed for further hearing on May 2, 2025. This classification is expected to facilitate the Court's process in dealing with the numerous cases based on the applicability of the newly amended state rules governing rehabilitation assistance.