Cuttack: The Orissa High Court Thursday directed the Chief Secretary to deposit `1,000 as penalty with it for repeatedly missing the deadline for submission of affidavit in connection with a contempt case.
A bench of Justices Sanju Panda and SN Prasad imposed the penalty on the CS and posted the hearing to July 3.
According to the petition, 94 candidates had cleared the Orissa Civil Services Examination-1987 of which two were selected for Class-II post. However, they were appointed as sub-registrars, a Class-III post.
The duo had challenged the decision of the government in the Orissa Administrative Tribunal (OAT). However, the OAT rejected the petitions of the candidates citing that the petition was filed too late. On the other hand, a decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by then Chief Minister Late Biju Patnaik to appoint the petitioners in Class-II post.
Meanwhile, the petitioners knocked the door of HC challenging the OAT ruling. During the hearing in 2013, the petitioners informed the HC that in a related case, the state government had earlier changed the posts of some of the candidates from Class-III to Class-II following the intervention of court about 12 years after their appointment. However, it was not followed in their case, the petitioners alleged.
The HC in its January 2014 ruling had directed the state government to appoint the petitioners in Class-II post within eight weeks. The petitioners informed the state government about the HC ruling and requested it to implement the ruling, but to no avail.
Later, the petitioner filed a contempt of court case with the HC and informed the court that although six Class-II posts were vacant, they were deprived of these posts.
The HC in April this year further directed the state government to submit an affidavit about the high-level meeting chaired by Patnaik pertaining to the appointment. However, the government did not file the affidavit.
The HC again in its May 9 ruling had issued final reminder to the Chief Secretary to file the affidavit by June 21, but the deadline was missed this time too.
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