Rajasthan High Court - Jaipur
Dr. Navita Kumawat D/O Shree Harlal ... vs State Of Rajasthan on 22 September, 2022
Author: Ashok Kumar Gaur
Bench: Ashok Kumar Gaur
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
BENCH AT JAIPUR
S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.10023/2022
Dr. Navita Kumawat D/o Shree Harlal Kumawat, Aged About 27
Years, Resident of Ward No.12, Dhod, Sikar (Raj.).
----Petitioner
Versus
1. State of Rajasthan, through the Principal Secretary,
Medical and Health Department, Government Secretariat,
Jaipur.
2. The Director, Medical and Health Services, Swasthya
Bhawan, Tilak Marg, C-Scheme, Jaipur.
3. The Chairman, NEET PG Medical and Dental Counseling
Board 2022-2023, Government Dental College, Jaipur.
4. National Medical Commission, through its Secretary,
Pocket-14, Sector-8, Dwarka, Phase-I, New Delhi.
5. The Chief Medical and Health Officer, Sikar District Sikar.
6. The Medical Officer Incharge, Community Health Centre,
Dhod, Sikar District Sikar.
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Mr.Tanveer Ahamad, Adv.
For Respondent(s) : Dr.V.B. Sharma, AAG with Mr.Harshal
Tholia, Adv.
Mr.Angad Mirdha, Adv.
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK KUMAR GAUR
Order
22/09/2022
The instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioner
challenging the condition No.2 of order/letter dated 03.06.2022
and further seeking direction to count her service till 30.04.2022,
as having worked at Community Health Centre, Dhod, Sikar for
the purpose of award of bonus marks for admission in the PG
Medical Course, based on the counselling of the NEET PG 2022.
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(2 of 8) [CW-10023/2022]
The facts pleaded in the writ petition, in nutshell, are
that :-
(I) The petitioner was appointed on the post of Medical
Officer vide order dated 27.03.2020 and she was posted at CHC
Dhod. The petitioner appeared in NEET PG 2022 as In-service
candidate and submitted her application form in the requisite
format, wherein she claimed that the benefit of rural service may
be extended to her for the period 27.03.2020 to 30.04.2022.
(II) The petitioner has pleaded that the respondents issued
an order/letter dated 03.06.2022, wherein they provided a
condition of counting rural service at CHC prior to such place
become a Tehsil Headquarter. The petitioner has pleaded that
initially a notification dated 14.04.2020 was containing the list of
places/centres on which benefit of rural service was to be granted
and in the said notification, name of CHC Dhod, Sikar was
mentioned at Serial No.341.
(III) The petitioner has pleaded that before issuance of
letter/order dated 03.06.2022, the respondents issued another
notification dated 18.05.2022, whereby certain centres were
deleted and some other centres were added. The petitioner has
pleaded that notification dated 18.05.2022 does not include the
name of CHC, Dhod, Sikar and as such, the petitioner was entitled
for granting the benefit of rural service upto 30.04.2022.
(IV) The petitioner has pleaded that the respondents
(Controlling Officer) while sending the form of the petitioner to the
Competent Authority have counted service of the petitioner in
rural area i.e. at CHC Dhod, Sikar from 27.03.2020 to 21.02.2022
on account of CHC Dhod, Sikar said to be declared as Tehsil
Headquarter by order of the State Government dated 21.02.2022.
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Learned counsel for the petitioner Mr.Tanveer Ahamad,
while making submissions, highlighted the fact of rural allowance
being paid to the petitioner at CHC Dhod, Sikar till May, 2022 and
as such, the action of the respondents is challenged, suffering
from arbitrariness and misuse of discretion.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that once
the final notification dated 18.05.2022 was issued, the same was
the criterion for granting benefit of bonus marks and even if CHC
Dhod, Sikar was declared as Tehsil Headquarter on 21.02.2022,
the benefit of service rendered by the petitioner upto 30.04.2022
cannot be denied.
Learned counsel submitted that the respondents were
conscious to insert or delete the different centres of CHC for the
purpose of granting bonus marks to the In-service candidates and
even if, there was some lapse on the part of the Authority about
not getting information regarding change of CHC Dhod, Sikar from
rural area to the Tehsil Headquarter, the same cannot be used
against the rights of the petitioner.
Learned counsel for the petitioner further submitted
that the relevant date for counting the rural service of In-service
candidate was 30.04.2022 and the petitioner was working from
27.03.2020 to 30.04.2022 and any information which is furnished
by the Revenue Department to the Medical Department, cannot be
made basis to deprive the petitioner from getting the said benefit.
The respondents have filed reply to the writ petition
and pleaded that the claim of the petitioner for getting bonus
marks upto 30.04.2022, may not be granted by this Court, as the
place where the petitioner was working i.e. at CHC Dhod, Sikar,
was no more categorized as a rural area after 21.02.2022.
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The respondents have pleaded that the very purpose of
granting bonus marks to In-service candidate is to ensure their
service in rural area and if the rural area remains no more rural
area and when such persons did not render their service in the
rural area, then they cannot get any benefit.
Learned counsel for the respondents-State Mr.Harshal
Tholia submitted that the place where the petitioner was working
i.e. at CHC Dhod, Sikar was in fact a Tehsil Headquarter since
21.02.2022 and the Tehsildar, Dhod, District Sikar, vide his letter
dated 20.05.2022, had apprised the Authorities that the place
where the petitioner was working, was no more a rural area.
Learned counsel for the respondents submitted that the
Government has issued a notification dated 28.04.2017, wherein
Rule 22A has been amended in the Rajasthan Medical and Health
Service Rules, 1963 and explanation has been substituted in Rule
22A, wherein it is provided that rural area means a place other
than the Tehsil Headquarter, which is not a Municipal Town.
Learned counsel submitted that the notification dated
28.04.2017 applies to all areas falling under the rural area and
moment of such area is declared as Tehsil Headquarter, would
have an effect of denying any benefit to a candidate who has not
worked in the rural area or who comes under the Tehsil
Headquarter.
Learned counsel for the respondents submitted that the
right, which the petitioner is claiming before this Court, is not a
vested right and the entire purpose of granting benefit of bonus
marks emanates from working in the rural area and since the
petitioner did not work in rural area after 21.02.2022, as such,
she cannot claim any vested right to get a bonus marks.
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(5 of 8) [CW-10023/2022]
Learned counsel submitted that even if there was some
lapse on the part of the Revenue Authorities in not informing the
Medical Department before issuing final notification dated
18.05.2022, such lapse would not create any right in favour of the
petitioner.
Learned counsel further submitted that the relief which
has been sought by the petitioner is not confined to her own right
but there are other candidates in In-service category and if such
benefit is given to the present petitioner, then the same would
have a cascading effect on the other similarly situated candidates
and as such, this Court even if finds that some lapse has been
committed, relief should not be allowed to the petitioner, as it
would vitally effect the rights of other eligible candidates, who are
more meritorious and who have in fact rendered their service in
the rural area.
Learned counsel for the respondents submitted that the
only ground taken by the petitioner in his memo of writ petition is
denial of opportunity of hearing and even if, the opportunity would
have been granted to the petitioner, the same would have been
empty formality, as the notification dated 28.04.2017 statutorily
prescribes that any area which comes under the Tehsil
Headquarter, can no more remain as a rural area.
I have heard learned counsel for the parties and
perused the material available on record.
This Court has carefully gone through the condition
No.2, which is prescribed in order/letter dated 03.06.2022. The
bare perusal of first part of condition/instruction No.2 provides
that the Controlling Officer before sending the application form
regarding experience of In-service candidate to the State
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Government, will keep in mind the notifications dated 14.04.2020,
28.06.2021 and 18.05.2022. The said condition was required to
be kept in mind by the Controlling Officer, who was to send the
requisite experience certificate and in the present case, the last
notification dated 18.05.2022 has been made criterion for
considering the experience certificate of In-service candidate.
This Court is at lost to comprehend as when the
notification dated 18.05.2022 has been made the basis for
awarding the bonus marks to In-service candidates and the name
of CHC Dhod, Sikar is no more there and it continues as per
notification dated 14.04.2020, as rural area, then the respondents
ought to have kept in mind the criteria as was prescribed in the
notifications dated 14.04.2020, 28.06.2021 and 18.05.2022.
The second part of instruction/condition No.2 provides
that those In-service candidates, who have rendered their rural
service but later on, if the said place is changed to Tehsil
Headquarter from Municipal area, then before change of such
areas, the services will be counted and after such changes, the
services will not be counted.
This Court if accepts the submission of learned counsel
for the respondents that even after issuance of notification
18.05.2022, whereby some places were erroneously left out and
certain places were changed from rural area to municipal area,
then person cannot claim such benefit, this Court cannot accept
the submission of learned counsel for the respondents. The State
Authorities were required to upgrade their entire list of centres
which they wanted to identify either as rural area or those earlier
rural area, later on converted into the Tehsil Headquarter or
Municipal Town.
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This Court finds that, in the present facts of the case,
the petitioner who was working at CHC Dhod, Sikar from
27.03.2020 to 30.04.2022 cannot be deprived of getting the
bonus marks only on account of one letter written by the Tehsildar
in the month of May, 2022 and if such kind of variation will be
allowed, the candidates who are eligible to get the bonus marks
will only have doubt in their mind as whether they will get the
benefit or not. The State Government or its Officials who are
concerned to grant bonus marks to In-service candidates, for their
rural service, should simultaneously undertake the exercise by
taking into account the views of the different Authorities as well as
the Revenue Authorities, as whether the place/centre on which the
persons are working, are included in the list of Municipal area or
Tehsil Headquarter or they are in rural area.
This Court further finds that in the present facts of the
case, the respondents have granted rural allowance to the
petitioner till May, 2022 and now they cannot be permitted to take
a plea that the petitioner ought not to have been granted benefit
of rural allowance or she should be deprived of counting of her
service or experience.
The submission of learned counsel for the respondents
that claiming bonus marks is not a vested right and it will affect the rights of other similarly situated candidates, suffice it to say by this Court that the petitioner is concerned about her own right, as she has worked in rural area and she has been paid rural allowance till May, 2022 and only on account of a letter being written by the Tehsildar after 18.05.2022, the petitioner cannot be deprived to get her due right for counting her service. (Downloaded on 24/09/2022 at 12:49:23 AM)
(8 of 8) [CW-10023/2022] The submission of learned counsel for the respondents that the petitioner has filed the present writ petition, invoking the equitable jurisdiction of this Court, only on the ground that opportunity has not been afforded to the petitioner, as such, this Court may not interfere in the present writ petition, suffice it to say by this Court that the petitioner has to prove that her right has been violated by the respondents and due to violation of her right, she has suffered, on account of not getting bonus marks. This Court finds that even if other candidates who are eligible to get the bonus marks will get the same according to their rural service, hence, the petitioner cannot be deprived to get the bonus marks only on account of other candidates getting due benefit of rural service.
This Court finds that the respondents have not acted in a proper manner and they have deprived the petitioner from counting of services rendered by her in the rural area from 27.03.2020 to 30.04.2022 and as such, the respondents need to rectify the mistake.
This Court accordingly allows the present writ petition and directs the State Authorities to count service of the petitioner in rural area from 27.03.2020 to 30.04.2022 for the purpose of bonus marks as In-service candidate.
The order rectifying the proforma, will be issued by the respondents within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order.
(ASHOK KUMAR GAUR), J Himanshu Soni/63 (Downloaded on 24/09/2022 at 12:49:23 AM) Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)