NEERAJ SHARMA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for quashing the selection of respondent No.4 for appointment to the post of Assistant Professor (Blood Bank) in the State Medical Colleges, Punjab.

(2.) The brief facts which would require notice insofar as the issue raised in the present petition are that the petitioner as also respondent No.4 amongst other candidates applied for the post of Assistant Professor (Blood Bank) since re-designated as Associate Professor, in the State Medical Colleges, Punjab in response to advertisement dated 9.7.2004, Annexure P3, issued by the Punjab Public Service Commission. The essential qualification prescribed in the advertisement insofar as the post of Assistant Professor (Blood Bank) was MD, MS, Ph.D., F.R.C.S., P.M.R.C.P. etc. in the specialty concerned. Still further, the teaching experience as Senior Lecturer or Lecturer for a minimum period of three years in the specialty concerned, whether prior to post Graduation or subsequent thereto, was also stipulated. It has been pleaded that the petitioner having passed her MBBS in the year 1988 did her MD in Pathology in 1995 and thereafter possessed a teaching experience as Demonstrator Pathology from 24.12.1999 to 8.7.1999, as Lecturer (Blood Bank) Government Medical College, Amritsar from 9.7.1999 to 15.12.2003 and thereafter as Senior Lecturer (Blood Bank), Government Medical College, Amritsar from 16.12.2003 till the date of issuance of the Experience Certificate dated 28.12.2005 at Annexure P1. Respondent No.4 also possesses the qualifications of MBBS and MD in Pathology. It has been pleaded that the teaching experience of respondent No.4 as Lecturer is in the Department of Pathology. Both, the petitioner as also respondent No.4 along with two other candidates were considered eligible for the post of Assistant Professor (Blood Bank) and the interview was held on 9.1.2006. The petitioner is aggrieved in terms of the result having been declared and notified by the Punjab Public Service Commission at Annexure P4 whereby respondent No.4 has been selected for the post of Assistant Professor (Blood Bank).

(3.) Mr.DS Patwalia, learned counsel for the petitioner has primarily assailed the selection of respondent No.4 to the post of Assistant Professor (Blood Bank) on the ground that she does not possess the requisite qualification of teaching experience as stipulated in the advertisement i.e. in the specialty of Blood Bank and asserts that the teaching experience of respondent No.4 is only as a Lecturer in Pathology and, consequently, her selection is in violation of the Punjab Medical Education Service (Class-I) Rules, 1978 (hereinafter to be referred as '1978 Rules') as amended from time to time. Learned counsel would further argue that the selection of respondent No.4 to the post of Assistant Professor (Blood Bank) is even contrary to the regulations framed by the Medical Council of India, namely, 'The Minimum Qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998 (for short to be referred as 'MCI 1998 Regulations')' framed in exercise of the powers vested under Section 33 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. In terms of referring to memo dated 4.6.1998, Annexure P5, issued by the Director, Research and Medical Education, Punjab, learned counsel for the petitioner has even cited the instance of one Dr.Mridhu Manjari who had been treated as ineligible for the post of Associate Professor, Clinical Pathology on the ground that the requisite teaching experience that the aforementioned Doctor possessed was in the specialty of Pathology and not in Clinical Pathology. Learned counsel has further placed reliance on three Division Bench judgments of this Court in Narender Singh Kundu v. Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited and others, 2004 7 SLR 825; Dr.Pyara Lal Garg v. State of Punjab, 2001 6 SLR 619; and Dhamandeep Singh and others v. Subordinate Services Selection Board, Punjab and others, 2001 2 SLR 561.