Medical institutes not apt authority to certify fitness standards for recruiting forces: HC

Medical institutes not apt authority to certify fitness standards for recruiting forces: HC

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:12.10.2021

The Punjab and Haryana high court has held that medical institutes like Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, are not the appropriate authority to certify standards required to be observed for medical examination for the armed forces.HC was of the view that the medical examination by such institutes cannot be taken into consideration for recruitment into the forces.

Justice Rajbir Sehrawat passed these orders while dismissing a plea filed by a Navy aspirant. The petitioner, Kuldeep Singh, had challenged the order dated May 4, passed by the Navy authorities though he was declared medically unfit for enrolment in the force. The petitioner had mainly argued that he was also examined by PGIMS, Rohtak, and that the institution has not found the problem as being reported by the Navy medical authorities.

“The medical examination by PGIMS, Rohtak, is of no relevance qua the requirements of the recruiting force. Hence, the same cannot be taken into consideration,” the judge held while dismissing the plea.

The petitioner had approached the HC seeking directions for re-examination by some independent medical board. His main emphasis was that since he got himself examined from PGIMS, Rohtak, and Medical Centre, Agroha, in which no such disease as pointed out by Navy authorities was reported. He had sought directions to give him some time to file an appeal against his rejection by the Navy authorities or to reexamine him by some independent medical board.

Responding to the petition, the Navy authorities informed the HC that the petitioner was examined by the graded specialist (ENT) and classified specialist (dermatology). On such examination, he was found to be fit qua his problem of ‘left tympanic membrane perforation (healed)’. However, the Appeal Medical Board found the petitioner on account of another problem — ‘keloid tendency (forearms)/hypertrophic scars’ and ‘hypopigmentation over hands/verruca valgaris’. The said problem has been graded as a reason for unfitness according to the standards of medical examination.

After hearing all the parties, the HC held that the petitioner could not be enrolled in the force, and hence, has been rightly declared to be medically unfit.

Dismissing a plea filed by a Navy aspirant, the Punjab and Haryana high court observed that the medical examination by such institutes cannot be taken into consideration for recruitment into the armed forces. “The medical examination by PGIMS, Rohtak, is of no relevance qua the requirements of the recruiting force,” the judge held