HC orders reinstatement of Odisha judge who resigned over autistic son’s care

The Orissa high court has ordered the immediate reinstatement of a woman judicial officer whose resignation was accepted by the Odisha government after her requests for a transfer to Bhubaneswar to care for her autistic son went unheeded, holding that her resignation was not voluntary but made under duress.

A division bench of Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak and Justice Sibo Sankar Mishra quashed a law department notification issued on January 2, 2023A division bench of Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak and Justice Sibo Sankar Mishra quashed a law department notification issued on January 2, 2023, relieving judicial officer Ipsita Mohanty from service, and directed the state to restore her as additional civil judge (junior division)-cum-SDJM with continuity of service.

The court said Mohanty’s resignation, submitted on November 29, 2022, was driven by “compelling reasons” after she was transferred to Hindol in Dhenkanal district, where specialised therapy and treatment for her 15-year-old son, who has severe autism spectrum disorder and neurological ailments, were unavailable.

Mohanty joined the Odisha Judicial Service in February 2015 and had earlier served in Bhubaneswar, where her son was receiving specialised medical care. After her transfer to Hindol in July 2022, she petitioned the High Court on September 5, seeking a posting in Bhubaneswar for two-and-a-half years so her son could continue his treatment.

The High Court’s Standing Committee deferred her request on October 20, 2022, without communicating a final decision. Faced with her son’s worsening condition and the lack of specialised medical facilities in Hindol, Mohanty submitted her resignation in November 2022.

Less than a month later, on December 21, 2022, she formally withdrew her resignation after receiving medical advice that her son’s treatment would require long-term care and that continuing in service was essential for his future.

The bench said the then Chief Justice directed that the withdrawal application be placed before the full court on December 22, 2022. However, the High Court Registry failed to communicate the withdrawal to the Governor or the Law Department.

Unaware of the withdrawal request, the Governor approved the resignation proposal on December 31, 2022, and the Law Department issued the relieving notification on January 2, 2023. The Registry later submitted her withdrawal application to the Chief Justice on the same day, but it was dropped on the ground that the government had already issued the notification relieving her from service.

The two-judge bench said these administrative lapses could not deprive the petitioner of her legal right to withdraw her resignation before it took effect. “We hold and declare that the petitioner’s resignation submitted on November 29, 2022, cannot be construed as voluntary,” the bench said, adding that the relieving notification was “bad in law.” The bench said in its order that Mohanty had an unblemished service record, with no pending vigilance inquiry, disciplinary proceeding or financial liability against her.

While directing her reinstatement with effect from January 3, 2023, the court, however, said Mohanty would not receive back wages for the period she remained out of service because she had undertaken to forgo financial claims for that period.

It granted her full continuity of service and all consequential service benefits. Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades.

With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions.

He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha.

His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states.

His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections.

In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More