UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS Vs. NENAVATH SURESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Nenavath Suresh, the respondent herein, aspired to the post of Attendant/A (workshop, plant, lab)/Hospital Attendant/A, now re-designated as Work Assistant 'A'/Hospital Attendant 'A' in Category No.6 (Auxiliary Posts) of the services in the Nuclear Fuel Complex, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, pursuant to Advertisement No.NFC/01/2010. Eight out of the 115 posts in this category were reserved for Scheduled Tribes, the category to which the respondent belongs. Upon completion of the selection process, he was placed at Serial No.3 in the wait-list pertaining to the said category. He was however offered ad hoc appointment for a period of 89 days in the first instance, under letter dated 08.06.2013 issued by the Administrative Officer-III of the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC). Thereafter, Offer of Appointment dated 22.10.2014 was addressed by the Administrative Officer-III of the NFC to the respondent informing him that he had been selected for appointment as Work Assistant 'A' (Industrial Workmen: Non-Technical) in Pay Band-1 of Rs. 5,200-20,200 and Grade Pay of Rs. 1,800 in a temporary capacity in the industrial establishment of NFC at Hyderabad. His appointment was however subject to medical examination and production of a certificate of fitness. He thereupon produced his fitness and medical certificates but was not issued an appointment order on par with others who were offered such ad hoc appointment. By communication dated 26.05.2015, the Administrative Officer-III of the NFC informed the respondent that pursuant to the assessment of his medical fitness by the Medical Committee on 13.05.2015, the Committee had opined that he was medically unfit for the post of Work Assistant 'A'/Hospital Work Assistant 'A' in the NFC in view of his morbid obesity and uncontrolled hypertension. His candidature for the said post was accordingly cancelled on medical grounds.

(2.) Aggrieved thereby, the respondent filed O.A.No.1141 of 2015 before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad Bench (for brevity, 'the Tribunal'). By common order dated 07.06.2017, the Tribunal allowed the said O.A. along with another O.A. In so far as the respondent is concerned, the Tribunal directed the authorities of the NFC to consider his case for appointment if he was otherwise eligible. The Tribunal opined, on the strength of case law, that a candidate could not be declared unfit for a particular post merely on the ground that he suffered from a disease or disorder without a clear finding that he could not perform the duties and responsibilities attached to the post. The Tribunal also concluded that a candidate could not be declared unfit for a post taking into account his disease/disorder and on the mere apprehension that he may develop complications in future, rendering him unfit for the post at that time. The Tribunal recorded that the authorities did not claim before it that the applicants in the two cases before it were not able to perform the duties and responsibilities of the posts to which they were aspiring due to their medical condition and it was their case that they may acquire severe complications in future rendering them unfit for appointment. This reasoning was held to be invalid by the Tribunal and relief was granted to the respondent also. The Tribunal however left it open to the authorities to subject him to a fresh medical examination, as his earlier examination was nearly two years ago, duly keeping in mind the observations made by it in the said order.

(3.) As the Tribunal granted liberty to the authorities of the NFC to conduct a fresh medical examination, the authorities constituted a Medical Board to examine him afresh. Upon such examination, the findings of the Medical Board were that the respondent suffered from: