Cuttack: The Orissa high court has held that the Odisha Public Service Commission’s (OPSC) 2024–25 advertisement for medical officer recruitment breached the 50% ceiling on reservation, while permitting partial appointments to address the state’s acute shortage of doctors.Hearing a writ petition filed by 82 applicant doctors, a single judge bench of Justice Biraja Prasanna Satapathy examined the distribution of vacancies advertised by OPSC. The petitioners had challenged the recruitment process on the basis of the advertisement issued on March 18, 2025.Senior advocate Buddhadev Routray, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, argued that the advertisement disproportionately increased reserved category vacancies compared to 411 unreserved posts, violating reservation norms.In the March 17 judgment the court noted that the advertisement earmarked only 411 posts for unreserved (UR) candidates, while allocating 4,837 posts to reserved categories — 736 for SEBC, 920 for SC and 2,481 for ST — out of a total 5,248 vacancies.“Since in the impugned advertisement while advertising 411 posts for UR category, vacancies for reserved category candidates have been indicated at 4,837 and the same admittedly exceeds the 50% ceiling, in view of the decision of the Supreme Court, it is the view of this court that such an advertisement could not have been issued,” Justice Satapathy observed, referring to Indra Sawhney v. Union of India.The court had earlier allowed the selection process to continue but restrained finalisation. Opposing any delay, the state’s advocate general Pitambar Acharya submitted that Odisha is facing a severe shortage of doctors and urged the court to allow completion of the process.Senior advocate P K Mohanty representing OPSC said the advertisement was based on a govt requisition citing 4,919 backlog and 329 non-joining vacancies, adding that recruitment had been completed but results were withheld due to the interim order.Taking note of the “crunch situation” in healthcare, Justice Satapathy vacated the interim order and permitted OPSC to recommend 411 UR candidates and an equal number of 411 reserved category candidates, proportionately to the percentage of reservation meant for such reserve category candidates.However, the court permitted the health department to fill up the reserved category candidates from the backlog vacancies, after receipt of the recommendation from the commission.
