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2017 Supreme(Mad) 728
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
PUSHPA SATHYANARAYANA, J.
Dr. P. Ezhilan – Petitioner
Versus
The State of Tamil Nadu, Represented by the Principal Secretary Health & Family Welfare Department – Respondent
W.P. Nos. 8535, 8725 of 2017 & W.M.P. Nos. 9322, 9572, 9573 of 2017
Decided On : 17-04-2017
For the Petitioners: Mr. L. Chandrakumar and Mr. A.V. Raja.
For the Respondents: Mr. T.N. Rajagopalan and Mr. V. Anandhamurthy.
The court emphasized that the rationale behind awarding incentive marks was for extending medical service to far-flung areas, and such marks cannot be claimed without rendering the required service.
Headnote:
Incentive Marks - Medical Service - G.O.Ms. No. 86, Health & Family Welfare (MCA-I) Department dated 23.03.2017, G.O.Ms. No. 29, Health & Family Welfare (MCA-1) Department dated 08.02.2017 - Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000
Fact of the Case:
The petitioners, doctors, sought the extension of incentive marks as per G.O.Ms. No. 29 for their service in rural, hilly, remote, and difficult areas for NEET PG examination 2017.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioners were not eligible for incentive marks as they were not serving in the classified areas at the time of NEET PG examination and the subsequent government order, G.O.Ms. No. 29, was kept in abeyance.
Issues: Eligibility for incentive marks as per G.O.Ms. No. 29 and the subsequent government order.
Ratio Decidendi: The petitioners were not entitled to incentive marks as there was no cause of action for them at any given point of time, and they were not serving in the classified areas at the time of NEET PG examination.
Final Decision: The writ petitions were dismissed as the petitioners were not entitled to incentive marks, and the court could not award them based on misplaced sympathy.
1. With consent, these writ petitions are taken up for final disposal.
2. W.P. No. 8725 of 2017 has been preferred questioning the legality and validity of G.O.Ms. No. 86, Health & Family Welfare (MCA-I) Department dated 23.03.2017 and for a direction to the respondents to restore G.O.Ms. No. 29, Health & Family Welfare (MCA-1) Department dated 08.02.2017 (for short G.O.Ms. No. 29) and to award bonus marks to the petitioners as prescribed therein towards consideration of their claim for assignment of merit ranking for the admission to Post Graduate degree courses in Tamil Nadu Government Medical Colleges, forthwith.
3. W.P. No. 8535 of 2017 has been preferred seeking a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to grant two incentive marks to the petitioner for one full year of service in the Primary Health Centre in hilly area, viz. Kothakondapalli, Bagalur Block, Krishnagiri District in accordance with G.O.Ms. No. 368, Health & Family Welfare Department dated 30.12.2010 and G.O.Ms. No. 29 by including Kothakondapalli in Annexure VI to the Prospectus for admission to post graduate degree/diploma courses in the Tamil Nadu Government Medical Colleges, Government seats in self financing medical colleges affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University and Rajah Muthiah Medical College (Annamalai University) 2017-2018 and thereafter, commence the counselling for admission for post graduate medical courses 2017-2018.
4. As stated above, though W.P. Nos. 8725 of 2017 and 8535 of 2017 have been preferred seeking a writ of certiorarified mandamus and mandamus respectively, in view of commonality of the issue involved in both the writ petitions, they are considered and decided by this common order.
5. In W.P. No. 8725 of 2017, all the petitioners are doctors, having completed their M.B.B.S. course. As far as the first petitioner and second petitioner are concerned, besides M.B.B.S. degree, they hold Diploma in Child Health and Diploma in Orthopedics respectively. In W.P. No. 8535 of 2017, the petitioner is a doctor, having completed her M.B.B.S. Degree. All these petitioners were appointed as Assistant Surgeons during the year 2013-2014 and they have been rendering service as on date. The gist of the relief sought by the petitioners in both the writ petitions is that the benefit of G.O.Ms. No. 29 should be extended to them.
6. The petitioners have appeared for National Eligibility-cum- Entrance Test (for short NEET) PG examination in 2017. The Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000, gives an incentive at the rate of 10% of marks obtained for each year of service in remote and/or difficult areas upto a maximum of 30% of the marks obtained in the NEET. According to the petitioners, as per G.O.Ms. No. 29, they have been discharging duties in various hospitals in rural, hilly, remote and difficult areas and therefore, they are entitled to the incentive marks as prescribed in Regulation 9(IV), ibid.
7. Their main plank of contention now is that G.O.Ms. No. 29 was put to assail by a set of doctors before this Court in W.P. Nos. 6094 to 6098, 6099 to 6103 and 6104 to 6108 of 2017; when the said batch of cases was disposed of by this Court vide order dated 20.03.2017, the relevant portion of a communication dated 20.03.2017 produced by the State of Tamil Nadu, which reads as under, was extracted in the order passed by this Court:
"2. In this regard, I am to state that in G.O. (Ms.) No. 29, Health and Family Welfare Department dated 08.02.2017, order have been issued notifying the Rural/Hilly/Remote/ Difficult areas for award of bonus marks for experience to the service candidates, at the time of admitting them into Post Graduate medical Degree/Diploma/6 years M.Ch. (Neuro Surgery) and MDS course based on the report of the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine/Director of Medical and Rural Health Services and Director of Medical Education.
3. I am also to state that the Government is re-examining the places notifie
