PRIYARANJAN MARAL Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners have filed this writ petition challenging the entire process of selection conducted by the Odisha Public Service Commission for recruitment to the post of Assistant Professors in Psychology in different State Public Universities under the administrative control of Higher Education Department.

(2.) The petitioners who had offered their candidature pursuant to an advertisement bearing no-08 0020-dtd. 8/2/2021 issued by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) for recruitment to the post of Assistant Professor in different State Public Universities of Odisha and were subsequently shortlisted for interview, in the present writ application seeks to challenge the notice bearing no-8881/PSC dtd. 6/12/2021 and letter/order bearing file no- HE-UE-POLICY- 0017 2020 51061/HE dtd. 14/12/2021 and the massive irregularity committed by the opposite party No-2 in the process of selection particularly by appointing two subject experts in the interview Board who are the Ph.D. guide of some candidates and also written some articles with some of the selected candidates who participated in the interview and selecting one candidate namely Monalika Rath who admittedly did not qualify for the interview and her candidature was rejected and reflected in the rejection list of the candidates. The petitioner calls in question the said action of the opposite parties as not only illegal and arbitrary but also contrary to the principles of fair play in the selection process inasmuch as the process is contrary to the statutory provisions governing the field.

(3.) The grievance of the petitioners is that although they were found eligible and called to appear in the interview but they fell victim in the hands of authorities as well as the expert bodies conducting the interview and selecting the candidates through favouritism and nepotism as a result of which the candidates who are less meritorious and belong to other reserved category made an in road into the select list. Therefore, the petitioners question the integrity and propriety of the persons conducting such interview to make a way for their research scholars to the select list.