For promotion to Assistant Professor under Medical Education Service Rules, three years teaching experience must be post Post Graduate Degree; experience after Diploma but before Degree does not qualify.

JUDGMENT :

VIVEK SINGH THAKUR, J.

Petitioner, by way of present petition, has assailed omission and commission on the part of respondents-State, whereby petitioner has been considered ineligible to be considered for promotion to the post of Assistant Professor in Medical College and has recommended promotion of respondent No. 7 as Assistant Professor ignoring the seniority of the petitioner.

2. Admitted facts related to the petitioner are that, he completed his MBBS in the year 2006, internship on 15.10.2007 and thereafter worked as House Surgeon in ICU in Department of Anesthesiology at IGMC Shimla w.e.f. 1.12.2007 to 19.2.2008. Petitioner remained as Registrar in Department of Urology, IGMC Shimla w.e.f. 1.3.2008 to 31.8.2008.

3. Petitioner served as Medical Officer in Department of Health and Family Welfare at CHC Choori, District Chamba, H.P. w.e.f. 1.9.2008 to 31.8.2013. Thereafter on 1.9.2013, petitioner joined as Junior Resident in the Department of Anesthesiology for doing Post Graduate Diploma in Anesthesiology from IGMC, Shimla and completed the Diploma in July/August, 2015.

4. Thereafter he served as Medical Officer (Specialist) in Regional Hospital, Chamba w.e.f. 1.9.2015 to 18.1.2017. On 19.1.2017 petitioner joined as Senior Resident in Department of Anesthesiology at Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru Government Medical College, Chamba, District Chamba, H.P. and remained as such till 8.3.2022.

5. Thereafter petitioner as General Duty Officer (GDO) completed his MD Anesthesiology from Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College Tanda at Kangra in the year 2024, and tereafter he joined as Medical Officer (Specialist) in Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru Government Medical College Chamba on 16.3.2024.

6. On 10.4.2025 petitioner joined as Senior Resident in the same Department in the same College and at the time of filing petition he was serving as such.

7. Petitioner is claiming his entitlement for promotion to the post of Assistant Professor in terms of HIMACHAL PRADESH MEDICAL EDUCATION SERVICE RULES , 1999 (for short ‘Service Rules, 1999’), wherein 50% appointment to the post of Assistant Professor has been provided by way of promotion from inservice candidates, i.e. General Duty Officers and 50% by direct recruitment in the manner specified in Service Rules, 1999.

8. Rule 3 of Service Rules, 1999 provides that the character, i.e. designation, grade etc., of various posts included in the service and their pay scale shall be as indicated in the Annexure-1 to these rules, subject to any additions, reduction that may be made by or under the orders of the Himachal Pradesh Government, from time to time. Annexure-1 provides method of recruitment to the post of Assistant Professor to the mode of 50% by promotion as under:-

9. Appendix-B specifies essential qualifications to the post of Assistant Professor, as mentioned in Part-A of Annexure-II is as under:-

10. The aforesaid provision provides that post-graduation degree in concerned speciality mentioned in Part-A of Annexure-II is an essential qualification for the appointment to the post of Assistant Professor ( Anesthesiology). Part-A of Annexure-II provides following post graduate degrees:-

11. To substantiate claim of the petitioner, learned counsel for the petitioner has also placed reliance upon Minimum Qualification for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations 1998, framed by Medical Council of India, amended vide notification dated 12.2.2020 (Annexure P- 3), wherein essential academic qualific