The court ruled that procedural fairness and accurate medical assessments are essential in employment-related decisions, mandating reconsideration of dependent employment benefits.

In this Writ Petition, the petitioner is seeking a Writ of Mandamus declaring the impugned result of the 5th respondent dated nil and communicated to the petitioner on 29.06.2020 pertaining to the petitioner’s fitness to continue in service and his eligibility for dependent employment benefit, to the extent of the finding that he is not eligible for dependent employment, as illegal, arbitrary, unjust and contrary to law and consequently to hold that the writ petitioner is entitled to all the benefits of retirement on medical disqualification ground including the provision of dependent employment to his son and to pass such other order or orders.

2.

Brief facts leading to the filing of the present Writ Petition are that the petitioner was working as a general mazdoor in the respondent organisation. In his service records, his date of birth is recorded as 04.09.1960 and on attaining the age of 60 years, he would be superannuating on 30.09.2020. It is submitted that due to severe back pain on account of disc dislocation and knee joints pain and also problem in urine discharge, the petitioner rendered himself as unfit to continue in the said job and accordingly, he is alleged to have made an application on 03.06.2018 for medical examination before the 5th respondent and on 08.06.2018, he was examined after conducting few medical tests and he was declared to be fit to continue in service.

According to the petitioner, he was not supplied with any medical reports of the tests conducted on him and was not informed about the result of the tests which made them to come to such a conclusion. It is submitted that subsequently, on 30.11.2018, the petitioner approached a private hospital at Kothapet, Hyderabad for treatment and after conducting various medical tests, the doctors came to the conclusion that he was not fit to continue in the present post and that he needs spine fusion surgery procedure to correct the spine problem. Subsequently, he admitted for surgery on 14.02.2019 and was diagnosed to have lumbar canal stenosis L3 to L5 and also to have stricture urethra and accordingly he was subjected to spine surgery on 16.02.2019 and discharged from the hospital on 21.02.2019. It was thereafter on

17.05.2019, that the petitioner was again referred to Global Hospital at Hyderabad and he was again subjected to optical urethrotomy and was discharged on 20.05.2019. On 29.05.2019, the Area Hospital, Ramakrishnapuram sent a report to the 5th respondent and the petitioner was advised to apply for Corporate Medical Board through proper channel for reassessment of fitness to continue in service in view of his ailments and surgical procedures that he has undergone. He accordingly submitted an application which was forwarded to the 5th respondent on 08.06.2019 and by letter dt.22.06.2020, the petitioner was asked to appear for remedical examination on 24.06.2020 and on 29.06.2020, the petitioner was declared to be unfit to continue in service. It is submitted that these medical reports also were not given to the petitioner. It is submitted that the list of the employees of the respondent company who underwent fitness test on 24.06.2020 and whose left over service was less than 2 years was only received by him on his mobile phone and the name of the petitioner appeared at serial No.5 informing, in the result column, that he was found unfit for further service, but is not eligible for dependent employment in the company as he has less than 2 years of service before retirement. Challenging the same, the present Writ Petition has been filed.

3.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner had complained about his back pain and also knee joint pains and about his inability to work much before 2 years of his retirement and he was accordingly sent for medical examination, but he was declared as fit for the same job without supplying the copies of the medical reports. He submitted that the said fitness certificate given by the Medical B