On 21 March 2025, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) had filed a writ appeal challenging the judgement of the Orissa High Court dated 29 October 2024 which ordered the regularisation of Radha Krisna Dash.
Sixty-year old Dash had joined CMC as a junior assistant on daily wages in November of 1990. He had served in this role for over 25 years after which he was absorbed on 14 August, 2015. As per his case records, Dash had worked without any break in service and been granted extension in 1992. He had also received increased allowances from 1996.
However, even though a directive was issued by the director in 1996 asking municipal administration to sponsor applications of irregularly-appointed junior assistants, Dash’s name was not submitted, while those junior to him were taken into account. After a selection test, 148 workers who’d served in the 1982 to 1992 decade were regularised. As per a May 1999 order, these candidates were also granted seniority based on their period of service calculated from their initial engagement date.
Dash had reportedly approached authorities several times for his case to be considered but no action was taken. A 2015 directive to take into account his case at par with co-workers bore no fruit either.
In October of 2024, a single judge order had directed concerned authorities to bring into effect the retrospective regularisation of Dash’s service from 1999 and also pay him all the resulting benefits he had been entitled to within three months from the date of the order.
The Corporation filed a writ appeal questioning the judgement in March of 2025, which the Orissa High Court has now dismissed.
The bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice MS Raman ordered authorities to comply with the 2024 judgment within a month. If CMC fails to do so, it will have to pay a fine of Rs 5,000 per day, which will be recoverable from the salary of the responsible official.
