Wed Dec 03 22:58:13 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text followed by a rewritten version as a news article:

Summary:

The Orissa High Court has dismissed petitions challenging the Odisha government’s recruitment process for assistant professors in super-specialty streams. The petitioners argued that the 2021 advertisement issued by the Odisha Public Service Commission was flawed because it did not include reservations for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. The court, however, ruled that no illegality was committed by the government or the OPSC in issuing the advertisement, citing precedent that necessitates the state to determine whether reservation can be followed for assistant professor position. The government argued, and the court accepted, that reservations are not applicable to these positions as they are not considered “base level” posts according to Medical Council of India norms.

News Article:

Orissa High Court Upholds Recruitment Process, Rejects Reservation Plea for Super-Specialty Professors

BHUBANESWAR, December 4, 2025 – The Orissa High Court has rejected petitions challenging the Odisha government’s recruitment process for assistant professors in super-specialty medical streams. The court ruled that the absence of reserved quotas for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates in the recruitment advertisement issued by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) in 2021 did not constitute an illegality.

The petitioners argued that the lack of reservation in the advertisement for 19 assistant professor positions violated established norms. However, Justice Biraja Prasanna Satpathy dismissed these claims, stating that the state had not been determined whether reservation can be followed in these positions.

The government argued, successfully, that the position of assistant professor in a super-specialty is not considered a “base level” post and therefore not subject to reservation policies. Counsel for the government cited Medical Council of India guidelines, which place assistant professors in super-specialty fields at Level 12, while assistant professors in broad specialty fields are at Level 11. They reasoned that positions at Level 12 could not be considered entry-level roles.

“This court is not inclined to interfere with the recruitment process so undertaken by the Commission pursuant to the advertisement,” stated Justice Satpathy in the ruling. “Consequentially, both the writ petitions fail and are dismissed accordingly.”

The ruling comes after a period of debate surrounding reservation policies in higher education, particularly in specialized fields.

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