Cuttack: The Odisha government has sought four months’ time from the Orissa High Court to complete the process of filling key vacant posts in the Odisha State Higher Education Council (OSHEC), following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that flagged prolonged vacancies in the statutory body.
The PIL, filed by advocate and human rights activist Prabir Kumar Das, alleged that the Council has been rendered largely ineffective due to failure to fill several posts, including the vice chairman’s position and 13 of the 15 member posts.
In an affidavit submitted on March 11, Additional Secretary of the Higher Education Department Dharanidhar Nanda informed the court that steps have already been initiated to appoint a vice chairperson and a member secretary to the Council. The state requested the court to grant four months to complete the ongoing selection process and submit a compliance report thereafter.
“The court may kindly grant four months’ time to enable completion of the ongoing process for filling up the vacant posts of vice chairperson and member secretary,” the affidavit stated.
The division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice M S Raman on Wednesday took the affidavit on record and posted the matter for further hearing on March 25. The petitioner has been given time until then to file a rejoinder to the government’s response.
According to the affidavit, a search committee was constituted on February 20, 2026, to recommend suitable candidates for the posts of vice chairperson and member secretary. Subsequently, an advertisement inviting applications from eligible candidates for the two posts was published in print media on February 25, allowing 21 days for submission of applications.
The petition pointed out that the previous vice chairman, Prof Ashok Kumar Das, who joined the Council on January 2, 2018, completed his six-year tenure on January 1, 2024. Although his term was extended, he resigned on August 8, 2024, after which the state appointed the commissioner-cum-secretary of the department as in-charge vice chairman.
It further highlighted that 13 of the Council’s 15 members, appointed on February 20, 2019, completed their tenure on February 19, 2025. No new appointments have since been made, leaving the body “truncated” and affecting its functioning.
The government stated in the affidavit that the vacancies could not be filled within the stipulated period ( six months from vacancy) due to administrative and procedural exigencies, but maintained that the process is now being actively pursued in compliance with statutory provisions.
The OSHEC plays a key advisory role in framing higher education policies, reforms and schemes, and in guiding the state government on improving quality, inclusiveness and student outcomes in the higher education sector.
