Orissa High Court
Biren Jena vs State Of Odisha & Others .... Opposite ... on 14 August, 2025
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
WP(C) No.20108 of 2025
Biren Jena .... Petitioner
Represented by Adv.-
Mr. Biplab P.B. Bahali, Adv.
-versus-
State of Odisha & others .... Opposite Parties
Represented by Adv.-
Mr. S.K. Jee, AGA
CORAM:
JUSTICE DIXIT KRISHNA SHRIPAD
ORDER
14.08.2025
Order No.
04. The short grievance of the petitioner is as to denial of admission to
his daughter in OP No.4-School on the ground that he is not a civil servant
or employed in PSU in the teeth of extant Guidelines obtaining in the realm.
2. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, drawing attention of
the Court to the document dated 01.04.2025 at Annexure-3 issued by DEO-
cum-DPC of Samagra Sikshya, Nayagarh, tells that his client is in the
service of Article 12 State entity under the Constitution; his service partakes
the character of one in a Public Sector Undertaking. So arguing, he seeks to
falter the decision impugned coupled with claim for a direction to admit his
child to VI standard in the subject School.
3. Learned AGA-Mr. Jee appearing for the OPs vehemently opposes
the petition contending that under the Policy Guidelines, it is only the civil
servants, whose children are entitled to gain admission to the institutions of
the kind and that petitioner not answering that description, cannot seek
admission for his daughter. He reads out a particular clause in the Guidelines
in support of his contention. Learned AGA appearing for the OPs further
submits that though the school in question is a Government School,
petitioner is only an employee of a society registered under the provision of
Societies Registration Act, 1860 and therefore, petitioner does not fall within
the parameters.
4. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and having perused the
petition papers, this Court is inclined to grant indulgence in the matter,
inasmuch as the expression 'civil servant' is conspicuously absent in the
Guidelines. Larned AGA-Mr. Jee in all fairness agrees that the children of
employees in the PSU are entitled to admission. The word 'Public Sector
Undertaking' answers the description of instrumentality of State in the light
of Apex Court Decision in Sukhdev Singh, Oil & Natural Gas v. Bhagat
Ram, AIR 1975 SC 1331. That apart, the very concept of instrumentality of
State under Article 12 itself has been expanded precedent by precedent vide
Ramana Dayaram Shetty vs The International Airport Authority of India,
AIR 1979 SC 1628.
5. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner draws the attention of
this Court to a Coordinate Bench decision in Purna Chandra Bag v. State of
Odisha, 2023 (III) ILR-CUT 280, wherein the nature of service of
employees of petitioner's kind has been discussed; paragraph 8 of the
judgment reads as under:
"Having heard learned counsel for the parties and after going
through the materials available on record, it is found that the
Executive Committee in its 26th meeting held on 16.02.2010
though approved for creation of the posts of Accountant-cum-
Date Entry operator to be filled up at the block level, but the
said post was designated as Accountant-cum-Support Staff by
the Opp. Party No. 2 while issuing the communication
dt.07.02.2011 under Annexure-1. Basing on the said
communication though it is not disputed that all the petitioners
were engaged as Accountant-cum-Support Staff at the block
level pursuant to the advertisement issued by the concerned
Collector-cum-Chairman, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan in different
districts, but taking into account the qualification prescribed
for Accountant at the block level and that of the Accountant
engaged in the State Project office and District Project Office,
this Court is of the view that the qualification prescribed for
engagement of the Accountants at the block level as well as in
the district level and State level are similar. It is also found
from the record that as per Regulation-45(a) of the 1996
regulation, it has been clearly provided that the Scale of Pay
in respect of the post to be created by the Executive Committee
shall correspond either to the Central Government or State
Government scale of pay. It is also found from the record that
the Executive Committee in its 30th meeting held on
06.03.2014 vide Item No. 6.4 also approved to extend the
benefit enjoyed by the different employees as per OPEPA
Employees Service Rules and Regulations 1996 to the block
level Accountant engaged at BRCs level."
These observations should be a complete answer to the objection raised by
the learned AGA.
6. After all, the Guidelines governing the admission to schools of the
kind are not pure statutory instruments, although they have abundant public
law elements, but for which writ jurisdiction was not invokable. Such
Guidelines have to be liberally construed to advance the cause for which
they have been promulgated. If children of 'civil servants' were alone to be
the intended beneficiaries, the clause extending the similar benefit to the
children of employees of PSUs would not have appeared in the guidelines. It
hardly needs to be stated that the employees of PSUs are not 'civil servants'
in its true sense. If employees of a society duly registered by the State
Government under the provisions of Societies Registration Act, 1860 were
intended to be kept away from the precincts of these Guidelines, a suitable
provision for such exclusion would have been made. Admittedly, the society
in question is funded by the State Government and the Central Government
in a particular proportion and therefore, it cannot be gainfully argued that the
petitioner is not in public employment in its broader sense. An argument to
the contrary if countenanced would be defeative of the intent and policy
content of the subject Guidelines.
In the above circumstances, this writ petition succeeds; a Writ of
Mandamus issues to the OP No.4-School to admit petitioner's daughter, Ms.
Sonali Rajalaxmi to VI Standard forthwith, of course subject to usual
compliances.
Costs made easy.
Web copy of this order to be acted upon by all concerned
( Dixit Krishna Shripad )
Judge
Prasant
Signed by: PRASANT KUMAR SAHOO
