Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday concluded hearing and reserved judgment on the matter related to the irregularities in recruitment of Primary and upper primary school teachers in Odisha.
The court also extended the interim order imposing restriction on the finalisation of the recruitment process, but allowed the document verification, said Samir Das, petitioner’s lawyer.
“We argued in favour of a district list. The list of first preference was also produced. The court was probably satisfied following our submission of all documents. But, the Advocate General argued in favour of merit-based selection and not on the basis of district. The court concluded the hearing and extended the interim order. The judgment will come out soon,” added Das.
Whether the court was satisfied on the argument of the AG will be known from the judgment, Das said.
Earlier, the petitioner had sought an interim stay order on the recruitment process. But, the court had refused to impose stay.
Some candidates moved to the High Court challenging the draft merit list published by Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) to recruit over 18,000 junior teachers in primary (classes I to V) and upper primary (classes V to VIII) schools.
They alleged that OPSEPA published the merit list of candidates without adhering to the guidelines which the School and Mass Education department had issued through a resolution on August 22, 2023 for the recruitment of junior teachers.
