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Padma Jagaranga v. State of Odisha

Orissa HC17 Nov 2025WP(C)/26348/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Show cause notice; Writ Court non-interference at show cause stage; Lady Cook-cum-Attendant engagement; District Welfare Officer, Kandhamal; Collector & District Magistrate, Kandhamal; Govt. (SSD) Girls High School, Durgapanga; WP(C) No.7632 of 2025 order dated 30.04.2025; four weeks to file reply; three-week post-decision protection; retrenchment of lower rung women employees; writ disposed keeping contentions open; no costs; Dixit Krishna Shripad, J.; High Court of Orissa at Cuttack.

What did the court decide?

Writ petition disposed of keeping open all contentions; Petitioners to file reply to the show cause notices within four (4) weeks; any adverse decision on such replies not to be given effect to for three further weeks so the Petitioners can work out their remedies; no costs. ¶26

Padma Jagaranga Vs State of Odisha — Orissa HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether the Writ Court should interfere with the show cause notices dated 02.09.2025 issued to the Petitioners concerning their selection and engagement as Lady Cook-cum-Attendant. +1 more

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Court's answer

The writ petition is disposed of keeping open all contentions of the parties, and the Petitioners are to file their replies to the show cause notices within a period of four (4) weeks.

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Ratio / Principle

Any decision taken on the replies to the show cause notices, if adverse to the Petitioners, shall not be given effect to for a further period of three weeks, so that the Petitioners can work out their remedies in accordance with law.

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Key takeaways

Because the Petitioners are lady Cook-cum-Attendants, they are to be protected for a period of three (3) weeks even after the decision is taken on the show cause notice, to their prejudice — extending beyond the protection offered by the learned AGA.ratio¶25

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ Petition — Challenge to show cause notices dated 02.09.2025 issued pursuant to order dated 30.04.2025 in WP(C) No.7632 of 2025, calling upon lady Cook-cum-Attendants (engaged by the District Welfare Officer, Kandhamal) to justify their selection and engagement, failing which these would be treated as null and void/cancelled. Writ Court declined to invalidate the notices at the show cause stage but disposed of the petition keeping all contentions open, directing the Petitioners to file replies within four (4) weeks; any adverse decision on the replies is not to be given effect to for three further weeks so the Petitioners can pursue their remedies, with the Petitioners additionally protected for three weeks even after the decision, given they are ladies in the lowest rung of service. No costs.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK

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W.P.(C) No.26348 of 2025

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…. Padma Jagaranga & Others

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Petitioners

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Mr. L.K. Mohanty, Advocate

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-Versus-

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State of Odisha & Others

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…. Opposite Parties

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Mr. U.C. Behura, AGA

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CORAM:

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JUSTICE DIXIT KRISHNA SHRIPAD

ORDER

Order No.

17.11.2025

02.

Challenge is to the show cause notices dated 02.09.2025 issued to the Petitioners. Their tenor being akin to each other, for ease of perusal, the show cause notice issued to Petitioner No.1 is extracted below:

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“SHOW CAUSE NOTICE

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WHEREAS the Hon'ble High Court of Orissa vide their order dated 30.04.2025 in WP(C) No.7632 of 2025 have directed the Opposite Party No.2 i.e. the Collector & District Magistrate, Kandhamal to issue show cause notice to the petitioners. The order dtd. 30.04.2025 in WP(C) No.7632 of the Hon'ble Court was duly received on 05.07.2025 from the office of the Advocate General, Cuttack vide their Letter No.2486 dated 25.06.2025.

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WHEREAS Padma Jagaranga, D/o-Subash Chandra Jani was engaged as Lady Cook-cum-Attendant by the District Welfare Officer, Kandhamal vide his Order No.3620 dated.12.09.2024.

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WHEREAS Padma Jagaranga have been selected for the post of Lady-Cook-cum- Attendant by Headmaster I/c, Govt. (SSD) Girls High School, Durgapanga involving in violation of SoP for engagement of CCA issued vide memo no.5017 dated 19.12.2023, fabricated advertisement and written examination paper, doubtful and opaque evaluation and submitting counterfeit documents to the District Welfare Officer, Kandhamal,

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NOW THEREFORE, Padma Jagaranga Is hereby intimated to submit her show cause reply as to why her selection and engagement to the post of Lady Cook-cum-Attendant shall not

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be treated as null and void/cancelled. Her show cause reply should reach the undersigned within 15 (fifteen) days from the date of receipt of this notice failing which the matter will be decided on its own merit,”

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Learned counsel for the Petitioners submits that the impugned show cause notices are tainted with lack of bona fide and that there is some effort from some quarters to ensure retrenchment of their clients, who are in a very lower rung of service, namely, Cook-cumAttendant. Added, they are ladies and therefore, the impugned notices be invalidated.

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Learned AGA-Mr. Behura appearing for the OPs submits that in show cause notice matters ordinarily the Writ Court should not grant indulgence, inasmuch as it is open to the noticee to show cause to the proposed action and in the event right cause is shown, the notice would commit legal suicide. He also agrees with the suggestion of this Court that till the Petitioners give reply to the subject show cause notices and a decision is taken on that, no prejudicial action shall be taken against the Petitioners. This will not be sufficient. Since Petitioners are ladies Cook-cum-Attendant, they are to be protected for a period of three (3) weeks even after the decision is taken on the show cause notice, to their prejudice.

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Ordered accordingly and writ petition is disposed off keeping open all contentions of the parties. Petitioners to file reply to the show cause notices within a period of four (4) weeks from this day. The decision to be taken on the reply to be submitted to the show cause notices, if adverse to the Petitioners, would not be given effect to for a period of three more weeks, so that Petitioners can work out their remedies, in accordance with law.

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Now, no costs.

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Web copy of his order to be acted upon by all concerned.

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( Dixit Krishna Shripad ) Judge

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Madhusmita

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Signature Not Verified