ASO recruitment; Orissa High Court orders to complete selection process within 6 weeks

In a major decision, the Orissa High Court on Friday directed the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) to complete the selection process for the Assistant Section Officer (ASO) at the earliest. The court has directed the Commission to complete the entire process within six weeks.

Earlier, a contempt case was filed as the Commission had not complied with the May 19 directive. The Court had directed to publish a fresh merit list.

On July 31, the Orissa High Court rejected the review and writ petitions filed in connection with alleged irregularities in the assistant section officer (ASO) recruitment exam conducted by the OPSC. The state’s apex court has upheld its earlier order directing the publication of a fresh merit list. The Court had heard the review petition filed by the shortlisted candidates on July 13 but it had reserved its order. 

The written examination to fill up 796 posts of Assistant Section Officers was conducted by the OPSC on August 27 last year and the results were published on November 7.

Several candidates had moved the Orissa High Court alleging irregularities in the ASO recruitment examination. The court interfered in the matter after the OPSC published a merit list of 1104 aspirants.

The aspirants argued that the OPSC did not mention the new qualifying mark rule in its initial advertisement and instead introduced it after the written exams. A total of 1104 candidates made it to the provisional list for Group-B posts in the Odisha Secretariat Service and got shortlisted for document verification and skill test, thousands of aspirants had alleged irregularities in the selection process. 

The High Court on May 19, 2023, scrapped the merit list prepared by the OPSC and directed it to prepare a fresh merit list within two months. Later, a fresh review petition in the High Court was filed on the grounds that the order had been passed on May 19 without making the shortlisted candidates parties in the case.