Internship during academic training does not constitute employment, thus disqualifying candidates from receiving bonus marks for Covid-19 services.

Order :

1. Petitioners herein, inter alia, seek issuance of an appropriate writ, order and/or direction commanding the respondents to consider their services rendered during Covid-19 for grant of bonus marks while issuing experience certificate as provided to Covid Health Assistant (C.H.A.) for appointment on the post of Nursing Officer pursuant to the advertisement dated 05.05.2023.

2. Briefly speaking, the facts pleaded in the petition are that the services of the petitioners were utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a shortage of medical staff. Despite the engagement of the petitioners, who were pursuing the GNM course, the State Government also recruited CHAs to conduct surveys and distribute medicines door to door.

2.1. The respondents issued an advertisement on 16.11.2022 for the recruitment of Nursing Officers. A writ petition, SBCWP No.18156/2022 (Ritesh Gochar vs. State of Rajasthan & Ors.), was filed at the Jaipur Bench, raising the grievance that the experience certificate was not issued in the prescribed format. As a result, the petitioners were unable to upload their experience certificates while submitting their application forms for the Nursing Officer/Pharmacist posts pursuant to the advertisement dated 16.11.2022.

2.2. The writ petition was disposed of by an order dated 01.02.2023, with the direction that the respondents would resolve the issue of granting bonus marks to the C.H.A. who provided their services during the pandemic, in accordance with the order/circular dated 03.05.2021.

2.3. In light of the order/circular dated 03.05.2021 issued by the Government of India and the direction given by this Court at the Jaipur Bench in its order dated 01.02.2023, the respondents reviewed the case of C.H.A. and deemed them eligible for bonus marks in the regular recruitment for the post of Nurse Gr.-II. Consequently, the respondents withdrew the earlier advertisement dated 16.11.2022.

2.4. The respondent department, by order dated 25.04.2023, granted bonus marks to aspirants who provided medical services during the critical Covid-19 period from 22.03.2020 to 13.02.2022. According to the order, 15 bonus marks were awarded to those who rendered services for up to two years during the Covid-19 period. Additionally, the respondent medical department issued guidelines for the issuance of experience certificates for medical and paramedical services in 2023.

2.5. The respondents issued a detailed advertisement for the Nursing Officer position on 05.05.2023, in which they considered the candidature of C.H.A. who rendered services during the Covid- 19 period for the purpose of awarding bonus marks. However, in the case of the petitioners, the respondents are not considering their candidature for bonus marks as a C.H.A. Hence, this petition.

3. The stand taken by the respondents in the reply is that the post of C.H.A., for which the petitioners have claimed parity based on the nature of work and duties, requires the qualification of having completed a GNM course and being registered with the Rajasthan Nursing Council. However, at the relevant time, the petitioners were still undergoing the course and did not possess the requisite professional qualification.

3.1. According to the office order dated 25.04.2023, which outlines the eligibility criteria for granting bonus marks, the petitioners do not meet the requirements to claim the bonus marks. The petitioners were neither engaged on a contract basis nor on a temporary basis, and therefore, do not fall under the definition of 'Karmik,' who are entitled to receive bonus marks.

3.2. The statutory enabling provisions of extending the benefit of bonus marks is found in Rule 19 of the Rules of 1965 , which clearly indicates that it is within the exclusive domain of the State Government to set the criteria for granting bonus marks, as well as the conditions for the validity of the experience certificate upon which the benefit of such experience is based. In the absence of any challenge