Orissa high court rules against contractual appointment, cites lack of legal sanctity

Cuttack: Holding that contractual appointments made outside the regular recruitment framework have no legal sanctity, the Orissa high court has dismissed a writ appeal on the appointment of an assistant professor (anaesthesiology) at MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, while criticising the state’s hiring practices.

A division bench of Justices Dixit Krishna Shripad and Chittaranjan Dash on Jan 28 ruled that “it is not disputed before us that the extant rules of recruitment do not provide for contractual engagement”, and questioned why authorities resorted to contractual hiring without initiating regular recruitment. “We fail to understand how the state agency could go for contractual appointment without exploring the regular recruitment process ordained by law,” the bench observed.


The appeal was filed by Shiwangi Mahato against a Nov 11, 2024 order of a single judge who had dismissed her challenge to an advertisement dated Nov 5 issued by the MKCG principal for filling up the post on a contractual basis.

Mahato had claimed that she was earlier selected pursuant to an advertisement dated May 8, 2024, but could not be appointed due to an interim order passed by the HC on May 20 that year. The interim order was issued in a petition filed by Rakesh Kumar Ludam, who challenged the May 8 advertisement on the ground that it was issued while he was serving as an assistant professor on a contractual basis.

The bench clarified that quashing of the contractual advertisement did not confer any “indefeasible right of appointment” on candidates selected through a process unknown to law. While endorsing the single judge’s order, it remarked, quoting Oscar Wilde, that “there is scope for improvement even in heaven”.

Rejecting Mahato’s claim, the bench said a “cryptic advertisement for contractual appointment followed by a half-hearted walk-in interview conducted by persons not answering the description of selection committee under the extant rules, would not give a legally enforceable right to appointment to anyone, be it contractual or otherwise”. The court said they were witnessing a “plethora of such cases” and “harshly deprecate the practice of contractual appointments in public employment” undertaken in violation of recruitment norms.

Dismissing the appeal, the bench directed the registry to forward copies of the judgment to the chief secretary and the secretary of Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) for necessary action.

The court noted that “walk-in interview gives scope for the allegation that things have been accomplished in shrouded mystery and that shakes confidence of the public in the recruitment process”. It added that such a mode may be adopted only if the rules permit, but “in the case at hand, no such rule is cited before us”.

The court also highlighted the broader problem of long-pending vacancies in govt posts, warning that irregular and infrequent recruitment renders many eligible candidates age-barred and affects governance.