Delhi High Court: In a writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution by the petitioner, a young mother, who aspired to join the Seema Sashastra Bal (‘SSB’) as a Constable (Washer Man-Female) under the OBC quota for the issuance of an appropriate writ, order or direction to quash and set aside the medical report dated 11-07-2024 and review the medical report dated 15-07-2024, a Division Bench of Rekha Palli* and Shalinder Kaur, JJ. directed the examination of the petitioner by a fresh Medical Board within one week and also directed the respondents to examine para 5.3 of the Guidelines of Recruitment Medical Examination in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles (‘Guidelines’) because as per the Court’s opinion, a period of six weeks was extremely short for a female candidate to regain her medical fitness after a pregnancy.
Background
In the present case, the respondents issued an advertisement in August 2020 to invite applications for the post of Constable (Washer Man-Female) under the OBC category. The petitioner applied for the same and successfully qualified the Physical Endurance Test (‘PET’) as well as the Physical Standard Test (‘PST’). Subsequently, the petitioner appeared for the written test on 22-06-2023.
Upon declaration of the final result on 21-11-2023, the petitioner’s name was included in the merit list. Hence, she was required to appear for a medical examination before being issued the offer of appointment. However, because she was at an advanced stage of her pregnancy, she was directed to appear for the same after her delivery.
After delivering her child, the petitioner appeared before the Medical Board on 11-07-2024 where she was declared ‘unfit’ because of being overweight. After the petitioner appealed against this decision, a Review Medical Board examined her on 15-07-2024 wherein she was again declared ‘unfit’ as her Body Mass Index (‘BMI’) was found to be 25.3 which was more than the acceptable limit of 25.
Dissatisfied with the findings of the Review Medical Board, the petitioner approached a government hospital in Gwalior where it was found that her weight was 62kg with a BMI of 24.8. Based on this medical fitness certificate, the petitioner submitted a representation dated 18-07-2024 requesting to be appointed. The respondents took no action on the representation and thus, the petitioner approached the Court.
Analysis and Findings
The Court noted that both parties agreed to the fact that as per the Guidelines, candidates having a BMI only up to 25 are considered to be medically fit for appointment in the Central Armed Police Forces.
The Court considered the admitted position that the petitioner had delivered a baby barely four months before she was medically examined and thus, said that the petitioner deserved to be granted another opportunity to be examined by a fresh Medical Board since the medical certificate issued by the government hospital in Gwalior showed that she had a BMI of less than 25.
Further, the Court opined that in a case like the present one, the petitioner ought to have been granted some reasonable time to attain her optimum weight after the delivery but did not delve into this issue because as per the government hospital in Gwalior, the BMI of the petitioner was less than 25 and an error of judgment on part of the Medical Board and the Review Medical Board could not be ruled out.
Thus, the Court allowed the writ petition and directed the petitioner to be examined within one week by a fresh Medical Board in the MI Room, SSB, R.K. Puram, New Delhi. The Court also directed that in case the petitioner’s BMI is found to be less than 25, she would be appointed as a Constable (Washer Man — Female), within four weeks, and be granted retrospective seniority as well as notional pay with effect from the date that other candidates were selected as a result of the same advertisement to the said post.
The Court also made it clear that the petitioner would be entitled to actual wages only from the date when she is appointed.
The Court further opined that the period of six weeks envisaged under the Guidelines to enable a female candidate to regain her medical fitness after going through a pregnancy is extremely short and it may not always be possible for a female candidate to lose the weight she may have gained during nine months within six weeks. The Court mentioned that the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 also provided for a much longer period of absence from duty.
Thus, the Court directed the respondents to examine this provision in consultation with the medical specialists concerned to consider the provision of a reasonable time within which a female candidate is required to regain her medical fitness after her pregnancy and for this purpose, asked the matter to be placed before the Additional Director General (Medical), Central Armed Police Forces.
Lastly, the petitioner contended that despite inviting applications from female candidates for job posts that were earlier earmarked only for male candidates, the respondents were still not using gender-neutral nomenclature. The Court found the petitioner justified in raising this argument but refrained from commenting on this aspect and hoped that the respondents would themselves suitably amend the nomenclature of such posts which are open to both male and female candidates.
[Sonu Rajput v. Union of India, 2024 SCC OnLine Del 6437, Decided on 10-09-2024]
*Judgment authored by Justice Rekha Palli
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For Petitioner — Advocate Rajesh Chauhan
For Respondents — Advocate Badar Mahmood, Advocate Ammar Ahmad
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