Isabella Mariam

The High Court of Andhra Pradesh Single Bench of Justice Gannamaneni Ramakrishna Prasad quashed the conditions laid down in Notification No.2 of 2023 issued by the Directorate of Medical Education, which required applicants holding non-clinical degrees (M.Sc (Medical) with Ph.D (Medical)) to submit Senior Residency Completion Certificates and limited their eligibility to situations where MD/MS/DNB/DM candidates were unavailable. The Court directed that these conditions are contrary to statutory regulations and hence unsustainable in law. It further ordered the preparation of a fresh provisional merit list within eight weeks, thereby allowing the writ petitions filed by affected candidates.

The writ petitions challenged the legality of conditions imposed by the Directorate of Medical Education, Andhra Pradesh, in its Notification No.2 of 2023 dated 14.07.2023, which called for recruitment of Assistant Professors through Direct Recruitment and Lateral Entry. The petitioners, possessing non-clinical qualifications (M.Sc (Medical) with Ph.D (Medical)), were disqualified on the basis that they failed to submit Senior Residency Completion Certificates, a condition they argued was neither legally sustainable nor practically applicable.

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The dispute arose when several petitioners, qualified in non-clinical subjects such as Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, and Microbiology, were declared ineligible due to non-submission of Senior Residency Completion Certificates. The petitioners argued that such a requirement was never imposed in prior notifications and was inconsistent with the Teachers Eligibility Qualifications in Medical Institutions Regulations, 2022 issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC).

The petitioners relied on Regulation No.6 and Tables 1A, 1B, and 1C of the 2022 Regulations to assert that Senior Residency is applicable only to candidates with MD/MS/DNB degrees and not to those holding M.Sc (Medical) and Ph.D (Medical) degrees in non-clinical subjects. They cited the definition of a Senior Resident as “one who is doing his residency in the concerned department after obtaining Medical Postgraduate Degree (MD/MS/DNB).”

Furthermore, the petitioners referenced prior public notices and communications by the Directorate of Medical Education, including Lr.Rc.No.999-2/E11B/2022 dated 29.08.2022, which explicitly stated that Senior Residency was not required for non-clinical posts. They also stated that Notification No.1 of 2023, inviting applications for Senior Residents, was limited to holders of DM/MCH/MD/MS/DNB degrees.

It was argued that the sudden imposition of a requirement for Senior Residency Completion Certificates amounted to an impossibility, as such residency programs are not offered to non-medical postgraduates. Petitioners also challenged the condition that their candidature would only be considered in the absence of MD/MS/DNB/DM holders, stating that this condition had no basis in the prevailing statutory regulations.

The respondents, represented by the Government Pleader, justified the inclusion of the conditions by referring to Paragraph 7 of Section-I and Paragraph 4 of Section-IV of Notification No.2 of 2023. They maintained that the provisions were framed to maintain standards and would apply uniformly unless specifically exempted. However, they acknowledged that Senior Residency programs were generally structured for candidates with medical postgraduate degrees.

"When the statute does not permit non-medical post graduate with M.Sc (Medical) with Ph.D (Medical) to ever take an admission into Senior Residency Programme, this Court is unable to countenance as to how such candidates could at all produce Senior Residency Completion Certificate."

"Imposing a requirement which is just an impossibility and which is not even contemplated under the statute is an antithesis to the rule of law, inasmuch as such deviations by the State can never be permitted and this approach by the Government cannot stand to the test of rationality and reasonableness under Article 14 of the Constitution of India."

"Notification No.2 of 2023 for non-medical post graduates with M.Sc (Medical) with Ph.D (Medical) will be considered, only if MD/MS/DNB/DM are unavailable, is contrary to the Regulations, 2022."

"These conditions were neither imposed by the earlier Regulations of the Medical Council of India/NMC (Minimum Qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998) nor the current Regulations, 2022."

"The Senior Residency Programme is made available only to the medical postgraduates pursuing their postgraduate degrees in certain subjects which are not categorized as non-clinical subjects."

"There is no scope for a non-medical post graduates to ever seek an admission into Senior Residency programme because admission into Senior Residency is only open to Medical Postgraduate degrees holders such as MS/MD/DNB."

"When the existing statute as promulgated by the NMC (Regulations, 2022) has very clearly stipulated the difference between the Medical Post Graduate Degrees and its requirement of possessing of one year Senior Residency Complete Certificate as compared to that of non-medical post graduates with M.Sc (Medical) with Ph.D (Medical), the Respondent No.2 has not been able to justify with reason as to why this definition had been obliterated by it."

The Court quashed the contested conditions in Notification No.2 of 2023 that required non-medical postgraduates with M.Sc (Medical) and Ph.D (Medical) to produce a Senior Residency Completion Certificate and limited their eligibility to scenarios where medical postgraduates were unavailable.

"Such conditions in the Notification No.2 of 2023 which are contrary to the Regulations, 2022 are unsustainable in law, and are hereby quashed."

"Consequently, the Provisional Merit List published by the Official Respondents on 09.08.2023 shall also stand quashed with a further direction to the Respondents to prepare a fresh Provisional Merit List in accordance with the Order of this Court and publish the same within eight weeks from the date of uploading of this Order in the Website of this Court."

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"It is clarified that in respect of other contentions raised by the Writ Petitioners such as adjustment of the post meant for the disabled person (hearing impairment) or conversion of reserved posts into general category so on so forth, shall be considered by the Respondents in accordance with law inasmuch as the Rules in respect of these issues are already in place."

"With these observations and directions, the Writ Petitions are allowed. No Order as to Costs."

"Interlocutory Applications, if any, stand closed in terms of this order."

Advocates Representing the Parties:

For the Petitioners: Sri Shaik Mohammed Ismail, Sri V.R. Reddy Kovvuri, Sri Madhu Sudana Sai Ram Asadi

For the Respondents: Sri V. Ramesh, Government Pleader for Services-IV; Ms. Shagufta Jahan Noor; Sri Viswanath Challa for Sri S. Vivek Chandra Sekhar, Standing Counsel for National Medical Commission

Case Number: WP/21631/2023 & batch

Bench: Justice Gannamaneni Ramakrishna Prasad 

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