IMPORTANT POINT
Candidates must exhaust all available remedies within the recruitment process before seeking judicial intervention, and the findings of Medical Boards in recruitment processes are generally upheld unless there is clear evidence of bias or procedural irregularity.

JUDGMENT :

J.J. MUNIR, J.

1. This writ petition has been instituted by an unsuccessful candidate for recruitment to the post of Constable Civil Police, Constable Provincial Armed Constabulary and Fireman in the direct recruitment of the year 2013. The petitioner prays that a mandamus be issued to the respondents to hold a medical examination for him by a Medical Board, who should review his medical fitness. He seeks this relief because the petitioner, after staking his candidature successfully through the various stages of recruitment process to the post of Constable Civil Police, Constable Provincial Armed Constabulary etc. in the Examination of 2013, failed the medical test.

2. The facts giving rise to this writ petition lie in a narrow compass. An advertisement was published by the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board, Lucknow (for short, 'the Recruitment Board') for recruitment of 20,000 constables in the Uttar Pradesh Police Department vide Advertisement No. PRPB:1-1(28)/2013 General dated 14.03.2013. The respondents issued an application form along with a handbook of instructions online. The petitioner applied in response to the advertisement. The petitioner's application submitted online bore Application ID No. 2000007101011798. He was assigned candidate registration No. 1015921613. After the online submission of the petitioner's application form, he also submitted it manually to the Recruitment Board. The petitioner's application form was scrutinized and found in order. He was issued with an admit card, bearing roll No. 15631199.

3. The petitioner says that he passed his preliminary examination and then the main examination. He was then called for physical test, after the qualifying written examination. The petitioner appeared before the Recruitment Board and declared successful. The petitioner was then invited to the medical test by the Recruitment Board, the medical test being scheduled at the Medical Centre, Police Lines Bhinga, District Shrawasti. He was also asked to bring in all his documents shown in the admit card. The petitioner annexed to the writ a part of the list of selected candidates, which carries his name at Sr. No. 19107 and bears roll No. 1582433. Also on record is a copy of the call letter for the petitioner's medical examination to be done at the Police Lines, Bhinga, District Shrawasti. The petitioner appeared before Board at the appointed time and venue. However, he was not selected with the reason assigned, being 'due to low merit or absent in DV or failed in DV or unfit in medical'. A copy of the result of this medical examination is at Page No. 32 of the paper-book. It appears that the other categories of exclusion are not applicable and the petitioner was not selected because he was held medically unfit.

4. The petitioner says that contemporaneous in time, he also appeared for recruitment to the post of Head Constable Ministerial, 2013-14 in the Central Reserve Police Force, New Delhi (for short, 'the CRPF'). He was declared unfit in the medical test conducted by the Medical Officer. He filed an appeal before the Medical Board, which declared him fit. The CRPF Doctor had declared him overweight on 04.10.2014, and, therefore, unfit, whereas the Appellate Board on 23.12.2014 found his weight to be ideal and certified him fit.

5. It is pleaded on the basis of the opinion of the Review Medical Board constituted by the CRPF that the petitioner was medically fit, but illegally excluded by the respondents, though finally selected. The petitioner asserts that after receipt of the result of the Medical Examination, he submitted his representation dated 16.06.2015 to the Recruitment Board, requesting a direction to the concerned Medical Unit for a review medical examination to judge his fitness, but to no avail. The petitioner claims that he submitted another application dated 14.08.2015 to the Recruitment Board, praying a review of his medical fitness, which also did not yield result. It is