The Orissa High Court has directed the State Government to regularize the services of junior lecturers, from the date of their initial joining in 1996 as Full Time Resource Persons (FTRPs) in junior colleges in the state, within four weeks.

Earlier, a single bench judge of the High Court had pronounced a similar order in October, 2021 asking the School and Mass Education (S & ME) Department for regularization of service of FTRPs from the date of their initial joining. The Department had later filed writ appeals challenging the impugned order pronounced by the single bench judge.

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“The Court finds no ground is made out for interference with the impugned judgment of the learned Single Judge. The writ appeals are accordingly dismissed. Consequently, it is directed that orders shall be issued by the S & ME Department by way of implementation of the impugned judgment of the learned Single Judge within four weeks from 15 February,” a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dr S Muralidhar and Justice MS Raman directed in an order on Wednesday.

According to case records, the state government had opened 31 Higher Secondary Vocational Schools under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Vocationalisation of Secondary Education” during the 1988-89 academic year.

On 6th June 1996, a gazette notification was issued regarding engagement of Part Time Resource Person (PTRP) in the Higher Secondary Vocational Schools. This was followed on 21 August 1996 by another gazette notification regarding Full Time Resource Person (FTRP).

The PTRPs worked without regularisation as Junior Lecturers. Aggrieved by the failure to regularize their services, they had moved the High Court. During the pendency of the writ petition, the respondents were appointed as FTRPs against the vacant post of Junior Lecturers with effect from 31 January, 2001.

The litigation was later transferred to the Odisha Administrative Tribunal (OAT) in the year 2010. The OAT in a judgment on 10 July, 2014 had directed the State Government to regularize the services of petitioners. With the order not carried out by the government, they had later filed contempt petitions.

After the contempt petition was filed, the Government on 3 July 2016 issued orders regularizing 201 FTRPs working in different Vocational Junior Colleges and re-designated them as Junior Lecturers with effect from 2021.

The petitioners had later moved the OAT praying for regularisation of services from the date of initial appointment against the vacant post of Junior Lecturers.

After the abolition of the OAT, the litigation came to be transferred to Orissa High Court and was heard by the Single Judge of the Court.