Central Administrative Tribunal - Jammu
Ravinder Singh vs D/O Health And Medical Education Ut Of ... on 20 February, 2026
:: 1 :: TA 7038/2021
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
JAMMU BENCH, JAMMU (RESERVED)
Hearing through video conferencing
Transfer Application No. 7038/2021
Reserved on: - 04.09.2025
Pronounced on: - 20.02.2026
HON'BLE MR. RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA, MEMBER (J)
HON'BLE MR. RAM MOHAN JOHRI, MEMBER (A)
Dr. Ravinder Singh Age 31 years S/o Sh. Hardeep Singh Ghai R/o H.
No. 11, Sector-E, Extension Bhagat Nagar, Talab Tillo, Jammu.
...Applicant
(By Advocate: Mr. Abhimanyu Sharma)
Versus
1. State of J&K
Through Commissioner/Secretary, Health and Medical Education
Department Civil Secretariat, Jammu
2. J&K Public Service Commission, Through its Secretary Resham
Ghar Colony, Bakshi Nagar, Jammu.
...Respondents
(By Advocate: Mr. Sudesh Magotra, AAG, Mr. F.A. Natnoo)
HARSHIT Digitally signed by
YADAV HARSHIT YADAV
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ORDER
Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member
1. The SWP No.5942018 was transferred from the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No.7038/2021 by the Registry of this Tribunal.
2. The present matter was filed before the Hon'ble High Court seeking following relief: -
a) allow the present writ petition;
b) declare Schedule-II attached to J&K Medical Education
(Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 1979 as ultravires to the Medical Council of India minimum qualification for teacher in Medical Institution, Regulations, 1998, in so far as it requires two years teaching experience as Registrar Demonstrator as the Minimum / required experience and to the extent it provides that the teaching experience, if any, gained before or during the Post Graduation Studentship shall not be considered while determining the eligibility for the post of Lecturer, whereas the Regulations framed by Medical Council of India i.e. Medical Council of India minimum qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulation, 1998 amended from time to time require three years experience as a Junior Resident in Recognized Medical College i.e. experience gained while undergoing P.G. Courseand one year experience as a Senior Resident i.e. experience gained while serving as Registrar / HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 3 :: TA 7038/2021 Demonstrator, after completion of P.G. Degree Course i.e. MD/ MS;
c) quash Notification No. 01-PSC (DR-P) of 2018 dated 17.01.2018, whereby and whereunder applications have been invited for the posting of Assistant Professor / Lecturers in various Medical Colleges, to the extent it requires three years teaching / research experience as Registrar / Demonstrator as against the requirement of Medical Council of India Regulations, 1998 which require three years experience as a Junior Resident i.e. experience acquired during Post Graduation and only one year experience as Senior Resident acquired after completing P.G. Degree i.e. MD/MS;
d) quash Notice dated 16.02.2018 issued by respondent No. 2, whereby and whereunder, last date for receipt of application forms pursuant to Advertisement Notice No. 01-PSC (DR-P) of 201.8 dated 17.01.2018 has been extended upto 12.03,2018, to the extent and to the effect the said notice retains the determination of eligibility unchanged i.e. 21.02.2018 instead of 12.03.2018;
e) command and direct the respondents to treat the petitioner eligible for the post of Lecturer / Assistant Professorin their respective disciplines Pathology, Surgery and Radio Diagnosis advertised vide Advertisement Notification No. 01-PSC (DR-P) of 2018 dated 17.01.2018, inasmuch as, the petitioner possess three years experience of Junior Residency i.e. experience obtained during P.G. Degree Course and apart from that one HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 4 :: TA 7038/2021 year experience as Senior Resident i.e. as Registrar / Demonstrator obtained after completing P.G. Medical Degree i.e. MD/MS and consequently entertain the application forms of the petitioner for the post of Lecturers / Assistant Professors in their respective disciplines i.e. Pathology, Surgery and Radio Diagnosis, pursuant to Advertisement Notification No. 01-PSC (DR-P) of 2018 dated 17.01.2018 and to allow the petitioner to participate in the selection process.
f) ANY other writ, order or direction which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit or proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.
3. The facts of the case as pleaded by the petitioner in his pleadings are as follows: -
a) The present Transfer Application arises out of SWP No. 594/2018 which was initially filed before the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and, upon transfer, came to be registered as T.A. No. 7038/2021 before this Tribunal.
b) The applicant, Dr. Ravinder Singh, after completing his MBBS degree, pursued and successfully completed his Post-
Graduation (MD/MS) in the discipline of Surgery from Government Medical College, Jammu in May 2015. According to the applicant, the period of three years spent during the PG HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 5 :: TA 7038/2021 course is treated by the Medical Council of India (MCI) as Junior Residency.
c) Subsequent to completion of his PG degree, the applicant was appointed as Registrar in the Department of Surgery on 11.03.2016. An experience certificate dated 12.02.2018 was issued by the Principal, GMC Jammu in this regard. The applicant asserts that he possessed three years' experience as Junior Resident (during PG) and more than one year experience as Senior Resident (Registrar) after completion of PG.
d) The State of J&K had framed the J&K Medical Education (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 1979. Schedule-II of the said Rules prescribes, for the post of Lecturer/Assistant Professor, a PG degree along with mandatory teaching experience as Registrar/Tutor/Demonstrator or Senior Resident for a specified period. It further provides that teaching experience gained before or during post-graduation studentship shall not be considered for determining eligibility.
e) The applicant contends that the Medical Council of India Minimum Qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998 (as amended in 2009) prescribe eligibility for HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 6 :: TA 7038/2021 Assistant Professor as three years Junior Residency in a recognized medical college and one-year Senior Residency after completion of PG. According to the applicant, these Regulations are statutory and binding upon all States and Medical Colleges.
f) On 17.01.2018, respondent No. 2 (J&K Public Service Commission) issued Advertisement Notification No. 01-PSC (DR-P) of 2018 inviting applications for the post of Lecturer/Assistant Professor in various disciplines including Surgery, Pathology and Radio Diagnosis. The notification prescribed three years teaching/research experience as Registrar/Demonstrator.
g) The applicant asserts that this prescription was contrary to the MCI Regulations of 1998 which recognize the experience acquired during PG (Junior Residency) as valid teaching experience. Consequently, despite having three years Junior Residency and over one-year Senior Residency, the applicant was rendered ineligible under the advertisement conditions.
h) Subsequently, on 16.02.2018, the PSC issued a corrigendum reducing the required experience from three years to two years HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 7 :: TA 7038/2021 as Registrar/Demonstrator. On the same date, another notice extended the last date for submission of applications from 21.02.2018 to 12.03.2018; however, it retained 21.02.2018 as the cut-off date for determining eligibility.
i) The grievance of the applicant is threefold:
That Schedule-II of the 1979 Recruitment Rules is ultra vires the MCI Regulations insofar as it excludes PG teaching experience and mandates experience only as Registrar/Demonstrator.
That Advertisement Notification dated 17.01.2018 is illegal for prescribing experience contrary to MCI Regulations.
That retaining 21.02.2018 as the eligibility cut-off date despite extending the last date for submission of forms to 12.03.2018 is arbitrary and impermissible in law.
j) The applicant therefore sought declaration of Schedule-II as ultra vires to MCI Regulations, quashing of the advertisement HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 8 :: TA 7038/2021 to the extent of experience prescription, and direction to treat him eligible and allow participation in the selection process.
4. The respondents have filed their reply statement wherein they have averred as follows: -
a) At the outset, it is contended that the Transfer Application does not disclose infringement of any legal or fundamental right and is therefore not maintainable. The PSC, being only a selecting agency, is bound to conduct recruitment strictly in accordance with the Recruitment Rules notified by the Government. The advertisement notice merely reflects the qualifications and experience as prescribed under the governing Rules and Executive Orders and does not suffer from any illegality.
b) It is further submitted that the Health & Medical Education Department, vide various communications dated 11.01.2018, referred 66 posts of Assistant Professor (Lecturer) in Government Medical Colleges of Baramulla, Anantnag, Kathua, Doda and Rajouri for selection in terms of Government Orders No. 02-HME of 2018 to 06-HME of 2018 dated 01.01.2018.
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c) Pursuant thereto, Advertisement Notification No. 01-PSC (DR-
P) of 2018 dated 17.01.2018 was issued. Later, by corrigendum dated 16.02.2018, certain modifications were made, including reduction of required experience from three years to two years wherever applicable.
d) The respondents contend that the applicant, having completed PG in General Surgery, did not possess the requisite two years' post-PG teaching experience as Registrar/Demonstrator as prescribed under the applicable Government Orders and Recruitment Rules as on the relevant cut-off date. Therefore, he was ineligible under the Rules in force.
e) It is specifically pleaded that the recruitment was conducted strictly in accordance with the J&K Medical Education (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules and the Executive Orders dated 01.01.2018, and that the PSC had no authority to deviate from the prescribed criteria.
f) It is further submitted that select lists for the concerned disciplines were subsequently issued. Since the applicant did not fulfill the eligibility criteria as per Rules, he was rightly not considered.
HARSHIT Digitally signed by
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g) The respondents have thus prayed for dismissal of the Transfer
Application as being devoid of merit and not maintainable.
5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.
6. The present Transfer Application arises out of SWP No. 594/2018 which stood transferred from the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and has been registered as T.A. No. 7038/2021 before this Tribunal.
7. The applicant challenges (i) Schedule-II of the J&K Medical Education (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 1979 to the extent it excludes teaching experience gained during post-graduation, (ii) Advertisement Notification No. 01-PSC (DR-P) of 2018 dated 17.01.2018 prescribing experience contrary to MCI Regulations, and
(iii) Notice dated 16.02.2018 retaining 21.02.2018 as the eligibility cut-off date despite extension of last date for submission of applications to 12.03.2018.
8. The applicant completed his PG (MD/MS) in Surgery in May 2015.
The period of three years during PG is treated by the Medical Council of India (MCI) as Junior Residency. Thereafter, the applicant was HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 11 :: TA 7038/2021 appointed as Registrar on 11.03.2016 and acquired more than one year experience as Senior Resident.
9. Advertisement Notification dated 17.01.2018 invited applications for Assistant Professor/Lecturer posts and prescribed three years teaching/research experience as Registrar/Demonstrator, later reduced to two years vide corrigendum dated 16.02.2018.
10. However, Schedule-II of the 1979 Rules provides that teaching experience gained before or during post-graduation shall not be considered while determining eligibility. The applicant contends that this exclusion is contrary to the Medical Council of India Minimum Qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998 (as amended), which prescribe three years Junior Residency (during PG) and one year Senior Residency (post PG) as qualifying experience.
11. It is well settled that the Medical Council of India Regulations are framed under the Indian Medical Council Act and derive statutory force. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of Kerala v. T.P. Roshana, MCI v. State of Karnataka, MCI v. Madhu Singh, and Dr. Preeti Srivastava v. State of M.P. has categorically held that HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 12 :: TA 7038/2021 standards of medical education fall within Entry 66 of List I (Union List), and regulations framed thereunder are binding on States.
12. States may prescribe qualifications consistent with national standards, but cannot dilute, override, or prescribe standards contrary to those framed under Entry 66 List I. Therefore, the MCI Regulations prescribing three years Junior Residency and one-year Senior Residency constitute the minimum binding eligibility standards.
13. The MCI Regulations expressly recognize the three-year PG period as Junior Residency experience. However, Schedule-II of the 1979 Rules excludes teaching experience gained during post-graduation from being counted toward eligibility. This exclusion directly contradicts the MCI Regulations.
14. If the national regulatory body treats PG tenure as Junior Residency, the State cannot legislate or prescribe otherwise by excluding it. Such exclusion results in lowering or altering standards fixed under Entry 66 List I, which is impermissible.
15. Accordingly, to the extent Schedule-II excludes teaching experience gained during post-graduation studentship, it is inconsistent with and subordinate to the MCI Regulations and cannot prevail.
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16. However, instead of striking down the entire Schedule-II, the proper course is to read it down harmoniously so that experience gained during PG (recognized as Junior Residency under MCI Regulations) is counted toward eligibility.
17. The advertisement dated 17.01.2018 prescribed experience as Registrar/Demonstrator only, thereby excluding Junior Residency experience recognized by MCI. Since eligibility standards must conform to binding MCI Regulations, the advertisement condition to that extent cannot be sustained. The corrigendum dated 16.02.2018 reducing experience from three years to two years does not cure the defect, as the core illegality lies in exclusion of PG (Junior Residency) experience.
18. Though the applicant has challenged retention of 21.02.2018 as eligibility date despite extension of last date for submission to 12.03.2018, this issue becomes secondary once it is held that PG experience must be counted.
19. Even as on 21.02.2018, the applicant possessed:
• 3 years Junior Residency (during PG), and
• More than one year Senior Residency (Registrar)
20. Thus, under MCI Regulations, he satisfied the eligibility criteria.
HARSHIT Digitally signed by
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21. This Tribunal holds:
a) MCI Regulations, 1998 (as amended) are statutory and binding.
b) Standards under Entry 66 List I override conflicting State
Rules.
c) Schedule-II of the 1979 Rules, insofar as it excludes PG
experience recognized as Junior Residency under MCI Regulations, is liable to be read down.
d) Advertisement Notification No. 01-PSC (DR-P) of 2018 dated 17.01.2018, to the extent it excludes PG experience for determining eligibility, is unsustainable.
22. Accordingly, this Transfer Application is allowed with the following directions:
a) It is declared that the applicant fulfills the eligibility criteria in terms of the Medical Council of India Regulations, 1998 (as amended), and experience acquired during Post Graduation recognized as Junior Residency shall be counted toward eligibility.
b) The exclusion of such experience under Schedule-II of the 1979 Rules is read down to the aforesaid extent.
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c) In view of interim order dated 27.03.2018 passed by the Hon'ble High Court directing the respondents to entertain the application form of the applicant and permit him to participate in the selection process with result withheld, the respondents are directed to forthwith declare the result of the applicant.
d) If the applicant is found to have secured merit position within the select zone:
He shall be offered appointment against the post of Assistant Professor/Lecturer in the concerned discipline. If the advertised vacancies have already been filled, the respondents shall accommodate the applicant against any available vacancy. In case no vacancy is presently available, a supernumerary post shall be created for the limited purpose of accommodating the applicant, which shall stand adjusted against next arising vacancy.
e) The applicant shall be entitled to notional seniority from the date candidates from the same selection batch were appointed.
f) However, he shall be entitled to monetary benefits only from the date of actual assumption of charge.
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g) The entire exercise shall be completed within 12 weeks from receipt of certified copy of this order.
h) This direction shall not disturb appointments already made. No order as to costs.
(RAM MOHAN JOHRI) (RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA)
Administrative Member Judicial Member
/harshit/
HARSHIT Digitally signed by
YADAV HARSHIT YADAV