VANI VISWANATHAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, a candidate for recruitment in the Army Dental Corps, in the recruitment process initiated in the year 2019 and having been medically disqualified on account of being found to be suffering from scoliosis, by the Medical Board, Appeal Medical Board as well as the Review Medical Board, has filed this petition seeking examination of the petitioner by an impartial third party, preferably from Kerala, to determine whether the degree of scoliosis from which the petitioner suffers, is beyond the permissible level of 10 degrees.

(2.) The contention of the counsel for the petitioner is that all i.e. the Medical Board, the Appeal Medical Board and the Review Medical Board have found the petitioner to be suffering from varying degrees of scoliosis and thus a case for examination by an impartial third party is made out. It is also contended that a retired doctor from the Indian Army has informed the petitioner that though in the manual of the Indian Army, of medical standards for recruitment, there is no degree prescribed, beyond which those suffering from curvature of the spine cannot be recruited, but the Indian Army follows the rule of not recruiting those suffering from more than 10 degrees of curvature of the spine and only above which the candidate is said to be suffering from scoliosis. It is also stated that the said doctor has found the petitioner to be not suffering from scoliosis as the curvature of her spine is of 5 degrees only.

(3.) The petitioner had earlier filed W.P.(C) No.1415/2020 seeking constitution of a Review Medical Board and in which writ petition, the petitioner was ordered to be given the benefit of review medical examination. Post such review medical examination of the petitioner, W.P.(C) No.1415/2020 had come up before this Court on 11th March, 2020 when the counsel for the petitioner stated that the petitioner had filed CM No.9420/2020 seeking examination of the medical records of the petitioner by an impartial third party such as a government hospital doctor or the resident doctor of the High Court or such medical authority as the Court may designate, to prove her medical fitness. It was contended during the hearing of W.P.(C) No.1415/2020 on 11th March, 2020 that owing to the varying degree of scoliosis from which the petitioner was found to be suffering, by the Medical Board, Appeal Medical Board, the Review Medical Board and the retired Army Doctor consulted by the petitioner, there was a need for opinion of another authority.