Teaching Experience Prior To Recognition Of Medical College Can't Be Counted Towards Eligibility : Himachal Pradesh HC

Background Facts

The petitioner passed his MBBS in the year 2000–2001. He completed his MS (Surgery) in July 2016 from Himachal Pradesh University. Thereafter, he initially joined as a Medical Officer (Specialist) at Zonal Hospital, Mandi (H.P.) on August 16, 2016. Later, he was transferred and designated as Senior Resident in the Department of Surgery with effect from December 8, 2016 upon the establishment of the Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital (SLBS GMC). However, the college was formally recognized on May 31, 2017 under Section 10A of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. For appointment to the post of Assistant Professor, three years of teaching experience after post-graduation in a recognized medical college was required as per the applicable Recruitment Rules.

On December 27, 2019, the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission issued an advertisement. It invited applications for two posts of Assistant Professor in General Surgery. Here the eligibility cut-off date was fixed as January 16, 2020. The petitioner applied for the post. He was issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) on January 9, 2020. Therefore, his name was forwarded by the Health Department for consideration. The NOC was kept in suspension on February 24, 2020. It was withdrawn on August 11, 2020, on the ground that the petitioner did not have the requisite three years' teaching experience as of the cut-off date. The petitioner's name was recommended by the HPPSC along with that of Dr. Vishal Thakur, but only Dr. Vishal Thakur was issued the appointment order. Aggrieved by the non-appointment, the petitioner filed a writ petition seeking direction to appoint him as Assistant Professor. However it was denied by the single judge order.

Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner filed an appeal against the single judge order.

It was submitted by the petitioner that he had been designated as a Senior Resident on December 8, 2016. Thereafter he had continuously rendered service in that capacity in the Department of Surgery at SLBS Government Medical College. It was further submitted that his three years of teaching experience should be counted from 08-12-2016, which would make him eligible as per the recruitment rules on the cut-off date of January 16, 2020. Referring to the experience certificate and the NOC, it was submitted by the petitioner that the competent authority had verified and certified his eligibility, and his name was duly forwarded to the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission for selection. It was contended that similarly situated candidates were also granted the benefit of experience from the same date.

On the other hand, it was contended by the respondents that as per the statutory Recruitment Rules, the petitioner was required to possess three years of teaching experience after completing post-graduation in the concerned specialty from a recognized medical college. It was further contended that the SLBS Government Medical College was recognized on May 31, 2017. Hence any experience prior to this date could not be counted towards eligibility.

It was further stated that the advertisement issued by the Commission clearly mentioned that eligibility was to be determined as on the cut-off date of January 16, 2020. However, the petitioner did not meet the experience requirement on that date. It was also submitted that merely participating in the selection process or being recommended provisionally did not create any right to appointment in absence of fulfilling the essential eligibility conditions. It was further contended by the respondents that the petitioner's NOC had been withdrawn after proper scrutiny, as he did not possess the requisite three years' teaching experience as per the rules.

Findings of the Court

It was observed by the Court that the eligibility criteria mentioned in the advertisement clearly required a minimum of three years teaching experience after completing post-graduation from a recognized medical college. The same eligibility criteria was mentioned in the Recruitment Rules of 1999 as well. It was further observed by the court that the college where the petitioner was posted (SLBS Government Medical College) was officially recognized only on May 31, 2017. Therefore, the petitioner's experience prior to that date could not be considered valid for determining eligibility.

It was held by the court that the petitioner was not eligible as on the cut-off date of January 16, 2020, and thus the withdrawal of the NOC was justified. It was further held by the Court that merely being recommended by the Commission or being allowed to participate in the selection process did not create any vested right to appointment. The petitioner was subject to fulfilling all eligibility conditions, and since he did not possess the required teaching experience on the cut-off date, he could not claim any legal right to the post.

It was further observed by the court that the fact that another candidate was appointed did not entitle the petitioner to the same benefit, especially when no material was placed on record to show that another candidate lacked the requisite experience. It was held by the court that the principle of parity under Article 14 of the Constitution could not be applied in a negative manner.

With the aforesaid observations, the appeal was dismissed.

Case Name: Vijay Singh Chandel v. State of Himachal Pradesh & Others

Case No.: LPA No. 40 of 2022 along with LPA No. 46 of 2022

Counsel for the Petitioner: Dilip Sharma, Senior Advocate with Manish Sharma, Advocate

Counsel for the Respondents: Gobind Korla, Additional Advocate General for the State, Vikrant Thakur, Advocate for HPPSC