Prasanta Sahu vs ) State Of Odisha ..... Opposite Parties
2025 Latest Caselaw 3572 Ori

Orissa High Court

Prasanta Sahu vs ) State Of Odisha ..... Opposite Parties on 3 February, 2025

Author: Aditya Kumar Mohapatra

Bench: Aditya Kumar Mohapatra

                 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
                            WP(C) No.2687 of 2025
            Prasanta Sahu                .....       Petitioner
                                                                Represented By Adv. -
                                                                Shakti Datta Tripathy

                                             -versus-
            1) State Of Odisha                          .....       Opposite Parties
            2) Executive Officer, Balangir                      Represented By Adv. -
            Municipality                                        Mr. A.Pati, A.S.C.

                                   CORAM:
                     THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ADITYA KUMAR
                                 MOHAPATRA

                                                ORDER

Order No.                                      03.02.2025

    01.         1.     This matter is taken up through Hybrid Arrangement
                (Virtual /Physical Mode).

2. Heard learned counsel for Petitioner and learned State Counsel for the Opposite Parties.

3. The petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking direction to the opposite parties to appoint him as per OCS (Rehabilitation Assistance) Rule, 1990 read with Amendment Rules, 2016 within a stipulated period.

4. Looking to the date of death of the deceased involving whom appointment under the Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme is sought and the date of application for appointment under the Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme, this Court finds, the refusal of petitioner's claim applying the provision in the 2020 Rule,

which has even not seen the light of the day either on the date of death or on the date of submission of application for appointment under the Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme, remains contrary to the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Malaya Nanda Sethy vrs. State of Orissa and others : reported in 2022(II) OLR(SC)-1 and State of West Bengal-v.-Debabrata Tiwari passed in Civil Appeal No.8842 of 2022 decided on 3rd of March, 2023 reported in (2023 (3) SCALE-557 decided by the Hon'ble Supreme Court and the judgment of this Court in Suchitra Bal vs. State of Odisha & ors. by a Division Bench of this Court in W.P.(C) No.2081 of 2021 decided on 16.03.2023 as well as Bindusagar Samantaray vs. State of Odisha & ors. by a Division Bench of this Court in W.A. No.810 of 2021 decided on 25.09.2023, wherein the apex court in a clear and categorical term observed that the Policy prevalent at the time of death of the deceased employee is only to be considered and not the subsequent policy. This Court, therefore, interfering with the refusal of petitioner's claim sets aside the same and directs Opposite Party Nos.1 & 2 to consider the case of the Petitioner for appointment under the Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme in terms of the provision at Orissa Civil Services (Rehabilitation Assistance) Rules, 1990 with the amended Rules, 2016, in view of the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court as well as this Court referred to hereinabove.

5. The entire exercise shall be completed within a period of

one & half months from the date of communication/production of certified copy of this order by the Petitioner.

6. With the aforesaid observation/direction, the writ petition is disposed of.

7. Urgent certified copy of this order be granted on proper application.

( A.K. Mohapatra )

Judge

Rubi

Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack