JUDGMENT

G.NARENDAR, J. - Heard Sri C.V.R. Rudra Prasad, learned Central Government Counsel, for the appellants and Sri M. Kesava Rao, learned counsel for the respondent/writ petitioner.

2. The appellants herein are (1) the Medical Board (Staff Selection Commission) rep. by its Senior Medical Officer; (2) the Deputy Inspector General - Appellate Authority; and (3) the Staff Selection Commission, rep. by its Regional Director (SR).

3. This intra-Court Appeal is directed against the order of the learned Single Judge, dtd. 18/10/2022, rendered in W.P. No.12228 of 2014, whereby the learned Single Judge was pleased to issue the following directions on the writ petition of the respondent herein.

"19. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is allowed with the following directions:

(i) The proceedings dtd. 28/1/2014 of the respondent No.1 and the proceedings, dtd. 22/3/2014 of the respondent No.2 are hereby set aside; and

(ii) The respondents are directed to reconsider the claim of the petitioner by taking into consideration the opinion of the Medical Board, N.I.M.S., Hyderabad, dtd. 11/4/2022, for appointment of the petitioner as Constable within a period of four (04) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this Order. There shall be no order as to costs."

4. The parties herein are referred to by their nomenclature before the learned Single Judge.

5. At the very outset, we would like to place on record the shock this case has given to the Court. It is a case where the candidate has been otherwise found fully qualified and whose desire for employment with the Security Forces has taken a beating on account of an alleged deformity of the little finger. As is often said that fate can be sometimes cruel and this is a classic example of cruel fate where a candidate, fit as a fiddle, is made to run around the corridors of the justice dispensation system for ten long years, which even to a layman would appear unjustified.

6. The petitioner is present before the Court today and we have observed his hands and but for a little crookedness, the little fingers of both hands are fully formed and but for the bent or little crookedness, even we as laymen can confidently state that the so called deformity would not in any way prove to be an impediment in the petitioner's endeavour to discharge his duties with the Central Industrial Security Force ("C.I.S.F."). The Force, which otherwise would have the benefit of a fit and determined person, has lost out the same to the vagaries of the system, which in the instant case has been compounded by sheer negligence on the part of professionals.

7. After hearing the learned counsels, we had asked the Medical Officer, who had examined and certified the petitioner as being unfit, to appear and assist the Court. We were informed that the Doctor has been posted to Arunachal Pradesh. Hence, we deemed it appropriate to grant liberty to the Medical Officer to make his appearance through virtual mode. Today, we have heard Dr.Surender Chowdary, the then Medical Officer, who examined the petitioner and issued the certificate holding him to be unfit. We have perused the certificate in detail and the Government guidelines and we have posed several queries to the Medical Officer, to which queries, the Medical Officer's only refrain was that he has relied on certain guidelines issued by the Department and on the basis of those guidelines, he has certified that the petitioner to be unfit. The Medical Officer, was neither able to detail the guidelines that he had followed, apart from stating in general terms, nothing in specific nor detail was placed before us by the Medical Officer though we had put the learned counsel on notice as to why this Court required his assistance. Hence, the failure to produce the necessary guidelines, in our opinion, is inexcusable. That, apart the bare observation of the Medical Officer, it is clear that there are no other medical records which would go to demonstrate any inability on the part of the