Cuttack: The Orissa high court’s vacation bench on Tuesday stayed further action on a fresh recommendation made by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) for appointment to the post of assistant professor (super speciality) in urology at SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. The court was hearing a petition filed by a doctor whose earlier selection was withdrawn.Justice Biraja Prasanna Satapathy passed the interim order on a writ petition filed by Dr Pradeepta Kumar Panda, a leave training reserve medical officer at Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar. Advocate Purusottam Chuli represented the petitioner.The vacation judge asked OPSC counsel S Pani to obtain instructions on the issue raised in the petition and fixed the matter for hearing in the week commencing June 29.“In the interim, it is directed that till the next date, no further progress be made to the recommendation made by the OPSC vide notice dated June 5, 2026,” said the judge.According to the petition, Panda was selected by OPSC under advertisement no. 34 of 2023-24 and his name was recommended for appointment on Feb 3 this year. Following online counselling, the health and family welfare department issued an appointment notification on March 13, directing him to join as assistant professor (super speciality) in urology after securing acceptance of his technical resignation from his existing govt post.Panda submitted his technical resignation on March 16 through the proper channel. However, he alleged that despite nearly three months passing, the state authorities neither accepted his resignation nor relieved him from duty, making it impossible for him to join the new assignment within the stipulated period.While the resignation issue remained pending, OPSC issued notices on June 4 and June 5 revoking an earlier rejection of another candidate’s candidature and recommending that candidate for appointment to the same post. Consequently, Panda’s earlier recommendation was withdrawn.The high court’s interim order has, for now, stalled implementation of the fresh recommendation pending adjudication of the dispute.The petitioner has contended that the delay in processing his resignation was entirely administrative and that he should not suffer the loss of an appointment because of inaction by the authorities. He also claimed that other similarly placed candidates were allowed to join their new posts without such hurdles.