The standard of medical fitness for armed forces is stringent, and a disqualification for insufficient dental points, substantiated by exam reports, is not subject to reconsideration without compelling evidence.

Headnote:(A) Guidelines for Recruitment Medical Examination in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles: Revised Guidelines as on May 2015 - Insufficient dental points as disqualification - A candidate must have a minimum of 14 dental points, and unfit candidates can be declared based on sufficient evidence from dental examinations. (Paras 3-11)

(B) Principles of Medical Fitness - Recruitment medical examination standards for armed forces are more stringent to meet operational demands; opinions from military doctors hold more weight than civilian assessments. (Paras 15)

Facts of the case:
Petitioner applied for Head Constable (GD) under sports quota and was declared unfit by the DME on three grounds including insufficient dental points. The RME confirmed unfitness based on the same dental evaluation. (Paras 3-4)

Findings of Court:
The court determined that the RME report on dental eligibility was consistent and no merit was found in the petitioner's claim against disqualification. (Paras 11-12)

Issues: The main issue was whether the petitioner should be granted another opportunity for medical examination based on alleged inconsistencies in fitness reports. (Paras 6-7)

Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that given the consistent findings of unfitness due to insufficient dental points confirmed by the RME and contextually valid guidelines, the petitioner’s claims could not be upheld. (Paras 11-17)

Result: Petition dismissed.

Table of Content
1. facts regarding the petitioner's application and examination (Para 1 , 2 , 3)
2. arguments regarding medical fitness and inconsistencies (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7)
3. court's observations on medical examination validity (Para 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12)
4. precedents on finality in medical opinions (Para 13 , 14)
5. emphasis on military standards and critique of external reports (Para 15 , 16)
6. conclusion and dismissal of the petition (Para 17)

JUDGMENT

Navin Chawla, J. (Oral)--The petition has been heard by way of video conferencing.

1. The present petition has been filed seeking rectification of medical reports of the Review Medical Examination (in short, 'RME') dated 13.10.2021 by accepting the 'Fitness' Report dated 11.09.2021 given by the Dental Surgeon of Government Hospital, Jhajjar.

2. It is the case of the petitioner that pursuant to the advertisement for appointment to the post of Head Constable (GD) under the sports quota in the Central Industrial Security Force (in short, 'CISF'), the petitioner preferred an application for being considered for the said post. The petitioner is a national-level wrestler and has participated in several National, State and Zonal-level wrestling competitions.

3. Upon clearing the document-verification process, the petitioner was asked to appear for his Detailed Medical Examination (in short, 'DME') at CISF 5th RB, Ghaziabad, Indirapuram, Shipra Sun City, Uttar Pradesh (hereinafter referred to as 'CISF 5th RB') on 03.09.2021. Vide letter dated 04.09.2021, the petitioner was issued a rejection slip for medically unfit candidates informing the petitioner that he had been declared medically unfit on three grounds, namely, `insufficient dental points', `DNS/Deviated Nasal Septum' and `Tattoo on dorsum of RT Hand.'

4. The petitioner preferred an appeal against the finding of the DME and underwent his RME at CISF 5th RB, and vide the impugned report, the petitioner was found to be 'fit' on two grounds, namely, `DNS' and `tattoo on dorsum of RT hand' but was still found to be 'unfit' on the ground of `insufficient dental points'.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioner places reliance on the certificate of medical fitness issued to the petitioner by the Dental Surgeon of Government Hospital, Jhajjar, wherein the petitioner has been found to have all teeth restored and no other abnormality was detected.

6. The learned counsel for the petitioner further submits that there is also an inconsistency in the report of the DME and the RME inasmuch as the petitioner has been found by the RME to be 'fit' on account of `DNS' and `tattoo on dorsum of RT hand', while the DME had found him to be 'unfit' on these counts. He submits that on account of these inconsistencies, the petitioner should be granted another opportunity of medical examination.

7. The learned counsel for the respondents, on the other hand, places reliance on the result of the RME, wherein upon examination by the Board, the petitioner was found to have insufficient dental points and was referred to a dental surgeon at RH CRPF for a specialist opinion and was found to have merely thirteen dental points. He submits that the same is a disqualification in terms of Clause 9(III)(2) of the of the 'Guidelines for Recruitment Medical Examination in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles: Revised Guidelines as on May 2015' (hereinafter referred to as the 'Guidelines'), relevant extract from which is as under:-

"III. DENTAL EXAMINATION

1. General Consideration:

a) xxxx

b) A candidate must have sufficient number of natural teeth to enable him to masticate efficiently and on no account will be accepted, if he/she requires artificial dentures for efficient mastication (i.e., artificial fixed denture replacing any molar).

c) In order to assess whether a candidate has a sufficient number of teeth to masticate efficiently, the following guidelines will be taken into consideration for calculation of Dental point :-

2. Calculation

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