Dr Cuckoo P Rajeevan vs Thomas John on 7 October, 2025

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Kerala High Court

Dr Cuckoo P Rajeevan vs Thomas John on 7 October, 2025

Applicant No.1 in O.A.No.1021 of 2025 on the file of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, Thiruvananthapuram, ('the Tribunal' in short), filed this original petition, invoking the supervisory jurisdiction of this Court under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, challenging the interim order dated 07.08.2025 passed by the Tribunal in that original application.

2. The petitioner is presently working as an Assistant Surgeon in the Directorate of Health Sciences, Thiruvananthapuram. She acquired the qualification of MD in Forensic Science from the Kerala University of Health Sciences on 07.09.2016. While undergoing PG Course, she was advised for appointment to the post of Assistant Surgeon, and she was duly granted extension of time to join duty. She was exempted from the compulsory bonded service. While continuing as Assistant Surgeon in the Health services, the petitioner and respondents 1 to 4, who are her co-applicants before the Tribunal, applied for the post of Assistant Professor in Forensic Medicine under the Medical Education Department, pursuant to Annexure A1 notification dated 31.12.2021 issued by the Kerala Public Service Commission ('KPSC' in short) as Category No.719 of 2021. After the selection OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 4 2025:KER:75435 process, the petitioner and respondents 1 to 4 were included in Annexure A2 ranked list published by the KPSC on 11.10.2023.

2.1. The petitioner states that she was placed at Rank No.7 in Annexure A2 ranked list. As on 23.11.2023, as per Annexure A3 status of advices made to the post of Assistant Professor in Forensic Medicine published in the KPSC website, only 11 advices have been made from Annexure A2 ranked list. Though advice memos were issued to the candidates, they were not issued with appointment orders, stating the reason of the pendency of O.A.No.1874 of 2023 filed by some persons challenging Annexure A1 notification. The main contention in the said O.A. was that, as per 2019 Medical Council of India Regulation, one of the stipulated qualifications is one year as Senior Residency in the Subject concerned from a recognised/permitted Medical College. The Tribunal passed Annexure A4 interim order dated 21.11.2023 in that original application to the effect that the selection on the basis of Annexure A1 notification would be subject to the result of that original application. However, there was no stay against the advice or appointments from the said ranked list. The applicants in O.A.No.1874 of 2023 assailed Annexure A4 interim order of the Tribunal in O.P.(KAT)No.547 of 2023, which was considered by OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 5 2025:KER:75435 this Court along with O.P.(KAT)No.480 of 2023 and connected cases. By Annexure A5 judgment dated 10.10.2024, this Court disposed of those original petitions, finding that the notification is sustainable. It was held in that judgment that what should be the qualifications and in what manner the Regulation of Medical Council of India can be interpreted can be decided by the Tribunal afresh. Accordingly, the said cases are now pending before the Tribunal, wherein there is no stay for further advice or appointments.

2.2. In the meanwhile, the persons, who were advised from Annexure A2 ranked list and who were not being appointed, approached the Tribunal by filing O.A.No.1773 of 2024 and that O.A. was disposed of by Annexure A6 order dated 27.02.2025, finding that neither there are any interim orders directing not to appoint the candidates have been issued nor there are any orders in force in any original petitions filed before this Court and hence it was directed to expedite the steps for issuance of orders of appointment. Against Annexure A6 order, the applicants in O.A.No.1874 of 2023, who are respondents in O.A.No.1773 of 2023, filed O.P.(KAT)No.113 of 2025 before this Court and the said original petition was disposed of by Annexure A7 judgment OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 6 2025:KER:75435 dated 14.03.2025 finding that absolutely no details have been furnished before the Tribunal, with regard to the qualifications of the candidates who are to be excluded from such ranked list and in the absence of such details, it cannot be claimed that the Tribunal erroneously passed such an order. By that judgment, this Court directed to keep on hold the order impugned for two weeks and clarified that if no details are furnished, the Tribunal can take appropriate decision. A review petition was filed by the petitioners in O.P.(KAT)No.113 of 2025 before this Court, and by Annexure- A8 judgment dated 01.04.2025 in R.P.No.429 of 2025, this Court set aside the order of the Tribunal and remanded the matter for fresh consideration along with other pending matters. It was clarified that any appointment to the above post will be subject to the outcome of pending challenges before the Tribunal. In the meantime, the advised candidates from Annexure A2 ranked list were appointed by the Department on 12.03.2025. Contending that despite the orders of this Court in Annexure A7, the KPSC is still reluctant to grant advice to the candidates in Annexure A2 ranked list, the petitioner and respondents 1 to 4 approached the Tribunal with the present original application seeking the following reliefs;

OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 7 2025:KER:75435 "A. To declare that the 3rd respondent, PSC is bound to advise of candidates from Annexure A2 Ranked list and further the 1 st and 2nd respondents are liable to effect appointments therefrom, for selection to the post of Assistant professor in Forensic Medicine. B. To declare that the Applicants are duly qualified and entitled and eligible to be advised and appointed to the post of Assistant Professor in their due turn in Annexure A2 Ranked list as they are qualified as per the NMC Regulations and further be granted early effective advice with effect from the respective dates of reporting of vacancies, as the delay in the advice and appointment cannot be attributed to the applicants.

C. To direct the PSC to advice the applicants by granting early effective advice with effect from the respective dates of reporting of vacancies in which they are eligible to be advised, and further direct the 1st and 2nd respondents to appoint them."

3. On 13.06.2025, when the original application came up for admission, the Tribunal passed Ext.P3 order dated 13.06.2025, which reads thus;

"Applicants claim that 8 vacancies are pending before the PSC for advice and appointment against the post of Assistant Professor in Forensic Medicine. According to the applicants there is no interdiction from any court against advice or appointment.

2. Standing Counsel for PSC shall get instructions. Post after a week."

4. On 07.08.2025, when the original application came up for consideration, the Tribunal passed the impugned order, which reads thus;

"The compliant of the applicants in O.A No. 1021 of 2025 is that the Public Service Commission (PSC) is not advising candidates OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 8 2025:KER:75435 against the vacancies reported, because of the pendency of the O.Α No. 1874 of 2023.

2. The learned Government Pleader submitted that 9 vacancies are already reported to PSC between 6.6.2024 to 24.5.2025 and that there is acute shortage of man power.

3. In the circumstances, there shall be a direction to the PSC to advise those candidates who were having senior residency as on the last date fixed for receipt of applications. This shall be done within three weeks from today.

There shall be also a direction to the respondents 1 and 2 to see that appointments orders are issued to the candidates who were already advised without any further delay. It is made clear that the advice and appointment would be subject to the outcome of both the Original Applications. (O.A 1021 of 2025 and O.A 1874 of 2023)."

5. Contending that neither the KPSC nor the Government had a case before the Tribunal that only candidates having the Senior Residency as on the last date fixed for receipt of application will be considered for advice and despite the absence of such a plea, the Tribunal passed an erroneous order directing the KPSC to advice those candidates, who were having Senior Residency as on the last date fixed for receipt of applications, the petitioner approached this Court with the instant original petition.

6. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Standing Counsel for KPSC, the learned Senior Government Pleader and the learned counsel for the party respondents.

OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 9 2025:KER:75435

7. The contention of the petitioner is that she is prejudiced by Ext.P4 interim order of the Tribunal, since she will not be considered for appointment despite her possessing the notified qualification and being included in Annexure A2 ranked list. According to her, when she possesses the qualification and eligibility as stipulated in Annexure A1 notification and when there is no challenge against the inclusion of the petitioner in Annexure A2 ranked list, the Tribunal ought not have restricted the appointment to the post of Assistant Professor to those with Senior Residency. As per Annexure-A8 order in R.P.No.429 of 2025 in O.P.(KAT)No.113 of 2025, this Court had remanded O.A.No.1773 of 2024 for fresh consideration along with the connected cases. While doing so, it was also made clear that any appointment to the post of Assistant Professor in Forensic Medicine will be subject to the outcome of the pending challenges before the Tribunal. In the light of the said direction, restricting the appointments to only those with Senior Residency is contrary to the directions in Annexure A8 order of this Court.

8. From the materials on record and the submissions made at the Bar, we notice that none of the parties to O.A.No.1021 of 2025 has a case that only candidates having the OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 10 2025:KER:75435 Senior Residency as on the last date fixed for receipt of applications fixed by Annexure A1 notification, will be considered for advice. According to the petitioner, the Medical Council of India had introduced the requirement of Senior Residency at the first instance in the year 2017 as per Annexure A9 Minimum Qualifications for Teachers in Medical Institutions (Amendment) Regulations, 2017. It is also the case of the petitioner and respondents 1 to 4 that the requirement of Senior Residency is provided only for clinical subjects and not for non-clinical departments, including Forensic Medicine. There is no scope for any Senior Residency Programme before 2017 for those who passed MD before the said period for getting appointment as Assistant Professor. According to the petitioner, the question with respect to insistence of Senior Residency as far as the present discipline is concerned, will arise only after 2022. While going through Ext.P4 order, we notice that the Tribunal passed the impugned order without referring to Annexures A5, A7 judgments and Annexure A8 order passed by this Court in the original petitions filed by various persons included in Annexure A2 ranked list. It was also not considered by the Tribunal that none of the parties to O.A.No.1021 of 2025 has a case that only candidates OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 11 2025:KER:75435 having the Senior Residency will be considered for advice. In such circumstances, we are of the view that the impugned order passed by the Tribunal is liable to be set aside and the Tribunal can be directed to reconsider the matter, after taking into consideration of the contentions raised by the parties in the original application.

In the result, this original petition is allowed by setting aside the impugned order dated 07.08.2025, passed by the Tribunal in O.A.No.1021 of 2025 and the matter is remanded back to the Tribunal for fresh consideration, after affording the parties an opportunity to put forward their contentions on merit.

Sd/-

ANIL K. NARENDRAN, JUDGE Sd/-

MURALEE KRISHNA S., JUDGE DSV/-

OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 12 2025:KER:75435 APPENDIX OF OP(KAT) 350/2025 PETITIONER'S ANNEXURES Exhibit P1 A TRUE COPY OF THE ORIGINAL APPLICATION (O A NO. 1021 OF 2025) FILED BY THE PETITIONER ALONG WITH RESPONDENTS 1 TO 4 HEREIN ON THE FILES OF THE HONOURABLE TRIBUNAL ALONG WITH THE ANNEXURES.

Annexure A1 THE TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION DATED 31- 12-2021, PUBLISHED BY THE KPSC FOR THE POST OF ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN FORENSIC MEDICINE (CAT 719/2021).

Annexure A2 THE TRUE COPY OF THE RANKED LIST NO.

872/2023/SS IV DATED 719/2021 PUBLISHED WITH EFFECT FROM 11-10-2023 BY THE KPSC IN CATEGORY NO. 719/2021.

Annexure A3 THE PRINT OUT OF THE STATUS OF ADVICES MADE TO THE POST OF ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN FORENSIC MEDICINE PUBLISHED IN THE KPSC WEBSITE.

Annexure A4 THE TRUE COPY OF INTERIM ORDER DATED 21-11- 2023 IN OA NO. 1874/2023 PASSED BY THE HON KERALA ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL.

Annexure A5 THE TRUE COPY OF JUDGMENT IN OP (KAT) 480/2023 DATED 10-10-2024 OF THE HONOURABLE HIGH COURT OF KERALA.

Annexure A6 THE TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER IN OA NO. 1773/2024 DATED 27-02-2025 PASSED BY THE HON KERALA ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL.

Annexure A7 THE TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN OP (KAT) NO.

113/2025 DATED 14-03-2025 PASSED BY THE HON HIGH COURT OF KERALA.

Annexure A8 THE TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN RP NO 429/2025 IN OP (KAT) 113/2025 DATED 01-04- 2025 PASSED BY THE HON HIGH COURT OF KERALA. Annexure A9 THE TRUE COPY OF "MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHERS IN MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2017 (TEQ 2017) BEARING NO. MCI- 12(1)/2017-MED.MISC./115698 DATED 5/6/2017 ISSUED BY THE MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA.

Annexure A10 THE TRUE COPY OF FAQ ISSUED BY THE NMC (DATED NIL).

Annexure A11 THE TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF THE MINIMUM STANDARD REQUIREMENTS FOR MEDICAL COLLEGES, ISSUED BY THE MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA, AS AMENDED UPTO 2018.

Annexure A12 THE TRUE COPY OF "MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHERS IN MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2019 (TEQ 2019) BEARING NO. МСІ- OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 13 2025:KER:75435 12(2)/2019-MED.MISC/189334 DATED 12/2/2020 ISSUED BY THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS IN SUPERSESSION OF MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA NOTIFICATION.

Annexure A13 THE TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGES OF NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY QUALIFICATIONS IN MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS REGULATIONS, 2024 DATED 17-01-2025 ISSUED BY NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION Annexure A14 THE TRUE COPY OF GO (MS) NO. 162/2010/H&FWD DATED 28-04-2010 ISSUED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P1(a) MA TO JOIN TOGETHER IN OA 1021 OF 2025 BEFORE THE HONOURABLE TRIBUNAL.

Exhibit P2          A     TRUE     COPY    OF    THE     RESIDENCY
                    CERTIFICATE/CLINICAL             WORK/TEACHING

EXPERIENCE CERTIFICATE NO. B2/995/2022/GMCT DATED 12.01.2022 ISSUED BY THE VICE PRINCIPAL, GOVERNMENT MEDICAL COLLEGE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Exhibit P3 A TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 13.06.2025 IN OA NO. 1021 OF 2025 OF THE HONOURABLE TRIBUNAL Exhibit P4 A TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 07.08.2025 IN OA NO. 1021 OF 2025 BY THE HONOURABLE TRIBUNAL Exhibit P5 A TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER NO. MCI-

12(1)/2017/TEQ/168110 DATED 15.01.2018 ISSUED BY THE MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA.

Exhibit P6 A TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION FOR CATEGORY NO. 593/2021 DATED 15.12.2021 ISSUED BY THE 7TH RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P6(a) A TRUE COPY OF THE RANKED LIST DATED 22.08.2023 FOR THE CATEGORY NO. 593/2021 ISSUED BY THE 7TH RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P6(b) A TRUE COPY OF THE APPOINTMENT CHART DATED 07.10.2023 FOR THE CATEGORY NO. 593/2021 AS DOWNLOADED FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE 7TH RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P6(c) A TRUE COPY OF THE APPOINTMENT CHART DATED 13.02.2025 FOR THE CATEGORY NO. 593/2021 AS DOWNLOADED FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE 7TH RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P7 A TRUE COPY OF THE NOTIFICATION FOR CATEGORY NO. 644/2021 DATED 30.12.2021 ISSUED BY THE 7TH RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P7(a) A TRUE COPY OF THE RANKED LIST FOR CATEGORY NO. 644/2021 DATED 06.10.2023 ISSUED BY THE 7TH RESPONDENT.

OP(KAT) NO. 350 OF 2025 14 2025:KER:75435 Exhibit P7(b) A TRUE COPY OF THE APPOINTMENT CHART DATED 24.11.2023 FOR THE CATEGORY NO. 644/2021 AS DOWNLOADED FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE 7TH RESPONDENT.

Exhibit P7(c) A TRUE COPY OF THE APPOINTMENT CHART DATED 17.07.2025 FOR CATEGORY NO 644/2021 AS DOWNLOADED FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE 7TH RESPONDENT.

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