Orissa HC quashes disqualification of Forest Service candidates over ‘BP test’

Orissa High Court overturns disqualification of 11 Forest Service aspirants barred over blood pressure tests, directing OPSC to allow physical tests with medical certificates.

Orissa High Court

View of Orissa High Court in Cuttack

time

The Orissa High Court has overturned the disqualification of 11 aspirants for the posts of assistant conservator of forests and forest ranger under the Odisha Forest Service cadre. The candidates had been barred from the recruitment process after being declared unfit solely on the basis of blood pressure readings recorded during the physical test, as reported by The New Indian Express.

Ruling on Petitions

Delivering the judgment on Monday in response to three writ petitions filed by the affected candidates, Justice A.K. Mohapatra stated that neither the 2013 Odisha Forest Service Rules nor the recruitment advertisement allowed exclusion based solely on blood pressure levels. He stated that the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) and the Forest Department had committed a “serious error of law” and acted in an “arbitrary and unlawful manner”.

The physical standards and endurance test had been carried out by the Forest Department under OPSC’s oversight, the report said.

Directions to OPSC and Forest Department

The Court also directed that the petitioners be permitted to undertake the physical endurance (walking) test, provided they produce a certificate from a registered medical practitioner showing normal blood pressure. The test is to be arranged within four weeks of the order’s communication. Justice Mohapatra further clarified that if the candidates pass the walking test, they must be allowed to proceed to the viva voce and that their final results will depend on overall performance.

Recruitment Background

The OPSC had advertised in May 2023 for 45 assistant conservator of forests (Group A, junior branch) and 131 forest ranger (Group B) posts. After the written examination held from August 18 to 28, 2024, candidates, including the petitioners, qualified for the physical standard and endurance test. 

In July, 11 were disqualified on account of blood pressure readings taken on digital devices, a decision later challenged in the Court. Advocates Rajib Rath, Madan Mohan Das, and Chinmayi Tripathy appeared for the petitioners.

Next story