The Orissa High Court has asked the Odisha government and the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) to examine whether a special Odisha Civil Services Main Examination 2025 can be held for eligible candidates who could not reach their centres because cyclone Arnab triggered flash floods in southern Odisha.
A division bench of Justice S K Panigrahi and Justice M S Raman sought separate affidavits from the chief secretary and the OPSC secretary by November 6. The affidavits must set out the number of affected candidates, the disruption to transport and the practical options for giving them another opportunity to take the examination.
The order was passed on November 3 on a petition filed by advocate Rashmi Narayan Patnaik. The OCS Main examination was held on October 31. The court will hear the matter again on November 6.
The bench has asked the state and the commission to explain whether a special examination is feasible, how much time it would require and how candidates genuinely prevented from appearing can be identified. The authorities must also address whether a separate examination would affect the evaluation of candidates who have already taken the test, require normalisation of marks or delay the recruitment schedule.
The OPSC has been directed to provide the total number of candidates declared eligible and issued admit cards, along with centre-wise and date-wise attendance and absence figures. It must also identify candidates from cyclone-affected districts who missed the examination, including those who had selected the Berhampur and Jeypore centres.
The court has specifically asked whether the commission received representations from candidates attributing their absence to the natural calamity, how many complaints were received and what action was taken. It also wants to know whether OPSC considered postponing the examination, or any paper at affected centres, and the reasons for its decision.
The commission must disclose the current status of the recruitment process and the expected dates for evaluation, result declaration and personality tests. These details will help the court assess how any additional examination could be conducted without disrupting the ongoing recruitment process.
The chief secretary, who has been impleaded in the case, has been asked to identify the affected districts and the period during which movement was disrupted. The state must provide details of the impact on roads, railways and other public transport during the examination period, as well as reports received from district collectors on restrictions to public movement.
The court observed that the issue concerned the right of eligible candidates to participate in competitive examinations for public employment on a “fair and equal footing”. It said that an inability to appear because of an extraordinary natural event “cannot be equated with a candidate’s voluntary or routine inability” arising from lack of preparation or personal reasons.
The state has also been asked to clarify whether any affected district or area was officially declared calamity-hit. The government and OPSC are expected to place the requested information before the court by November 6, when the petition is scheduled to be heard again.
