Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 18: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu Bench, has held that outdated Jammu and Kashmir Recruitment Rules cannot override the minimum standards laid down by the Medical Council of India for appointment to the post of Lecturer in Forensic Medicine, and ordered fresh consideration of Dr Arif Viqar’s candidature.
The Tribunal, comprising Rajinder Singh Dogra, Member (J) and Ram Mohan Johri, Member (A) allowed two connected transfer applications arising out of earlier writ petitions filed before the High Court of J&K.
Dr Arif Viqar, represented by Advocate Yasser Ejaz Tak had challenged the eligibility conditions under the J&K Medical Education (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 1979 and the recruitment notifications issued for the post of Lecturer in Forensic Medicine. The respondents were represented by Advocate Deepika Mahajan for MCI and O P Thakur, F A Natnoo and Sudesh Magotra, AAG.
The applicant argued that the State rules wrongly treated candidates from Pathology and allied disciplines as eligible for the post of Lecturer in Forensic Medicine and also ignored teaching experience acquired during postgraduate residency, contrary to the Minimum Qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998 framed by the MCI.
Accepting the contention, the Tribunal observed that Forensic Medicine and Pathology are distinct and independent medical specialties and held that treating them interchangeably defeats the very object of specialization in medical education. It further noted that exclusion of a candidate who fulfills national standards merely because the State rules remained un-amended for years could not be sustained in law.
The CAT also underlined that where State rules operate in a field already occupied by parliamentary legislation relating to standards of higher medical education, such rules must yield to the national regulatory framework meant to maintain uniformity. It said the applicant had been wrongly excluded from consideration despite possessing the requisite postgraduate qualification in Forensic Medicine and the teaching experience contemplated under MCI regulations.
Allowing both applications, the Tribunal directed that the inconsistent eligibility conditions in the 1979 Rules shall not be enforced against the applicant and ordered the authorities to reconsider his candidature strictly in accordance with the MCI Regulations, 1998. It further said that if found suitable, he shall be appointed against the available vacancy with consequential benefits including seniority and notional service benefits. The exercise has been directed to be completed within three months.
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