AJIT KUMAR VERMA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The three petitioner, who are working as Associate Professor, Assistant Professor and the Orthotic and Prosthetic Engineer in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, P.M.C.H., Patna, have filed the present writ application for quashing the part of the resolution contained in memo no.102(1) / Health dated 29-3-1998, issued under the signature of the Deputy Secretary, Department of Health, Medical Eduction and Family welfare, Government of Bihar, whereby a direction has been issued that the viklang Bhavan Hospital along with its artificial limb centre, which was previouslyunder the control of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the P.M.C.H. would be a part of the newly created Bihar College of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy.

(2.) The petitioners' case is that in 1987, the Medical Council of India made a recommendation that a separte Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation would be one of the minimum standard requirement in a medical college having 100 admissions annually. It also recommended that the Department should have a minimum of 30 beds constituting a single unit to be headed by a Professor or Associate Professor. The State Government taking into consideration the aforesaid recommendation of the Medical Council of India by resolution dated 11-4-1988 took a decision to constitute the existing Vikalang Bhavan Hospital, along with its Artificial Limb Centre and Medical Rehabilitation Unit of the P.M.C.H. as the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of P.M.C.H. Patna. It was also decided that the School of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, which was running in the P.M.C.H., would be a part of the aforesaid newly constituted Department of the P.M.C.H. A copy of the aforesaid resolution has been appended as Annexure 2 to the writ application.

(3.) The further case of the petitioner is that the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, which is a speciality of Medicine, deals with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation or disease, defect or disability by the use of physical medicines and rehabilitative measures, as also restoration of the individual to maximum physical, emotional, mental, social,vocational and economic usefulness. Apart from medically qualified Doctors, technicians/paramedical staff are required to help in making patients exercise and in use of Orthotics and Prosthetics like Crutches, Calipowers, Artificial limbs etc. On the recommendation of the qualified Doctors, certain other technicians help in manufacture of Artificial limb and other devices for the rehabilitation of the patients. The use paramedical staff and technicians is not confined only to the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Other departments also require technicians. On account of pressures by the paramedical staff and technicians of the department in question, the Government came out with the impugned resolution dated 29-3-1998, a copy of which has been appended as Annexure 3, whereby the School of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy of P.M.C.H. was upgreaded to a Bihar College of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy (hereinafter referred to as the College). It was further provided in the said resolution that the Vikalang Bhavan Hospital along with Artificial Limb Centre of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation would now be a part of the newly upgraded College. It is further asserted by the petitioners that the school in question , which was upgreaded as a College, had no separate building, space, instruments, equipments, gadgets and the facilities of the said department were being utilised by the students of the said school. As a result of the said notification, the Vikalang Bhawan Hospital along with its Artificial Limb Centre of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation has been made a part of the College and and as such the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in P.M.C.H. will become defunct and the M.B.B.S. students will be deprived of the facility of bed etc.