Bhubaneswar, Oct 17: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday quashed the Hindi teacher recruitment test conducted by Odisha’s Staff Selection Commission (SSC), citing serious procedural lapses and non-adherence to the recruitment notification. Justice Dixit Krishna Shripad criticized the Commission, noting, “How such a grave error could occur at the hands of the Commission, which plays a pivotal role in public service selection and employment.”
The court observed that the selection process for 711 Hindi teacher posts was flawed because the SSC neither conducted a preliminary examination nor provided the promised bilingual facility in English (Roman script) and Hindi (Devanagari script), as specified in the recruitment advertisement. With 4,493 applicants for 711 vacancies, the notification clearly required a preliminary examination to narrow down the zone of consideration a step that was skipped, denying candidates a fair opportunity.
The petitioners had also pointed out that the absence of the English version of the pedagogy and Hindi subject paper put aspirants at a disadvantage and undermined the principle of competitive justice. The court agreed, ruling that the previously held written main examination of May 15 is quashed and restored the process to the stage before the written exam.
The High Court directed the SSC to conduct the preliminary examination for Hindi teacher posts within three months, strictly following the provisions of the recruitment advertisement. The verdict emphasized that this move is necessary to ensure a transparent, merit based selection process.
Justice Shripad added that bypassing the preliminary examination was “unauthorised and unjustified” and stressed the importance of providing candidates with the English version of the question paper to maintain fairness.
The ruling comes as a significant decision for aspirants, reaffirming that procedural lapses in recruitment processes cannot compromise competitive justice.