Doctors from Private Medical, dental Colleges not allowed to apply: HC suspends notification on posts of senior resident doctors

Vijayawada: While considering a plea alleging that the Andhra Pradesh Government notification issued to fill up the posts of senior resident doctors in government medical colleges of the State was discriminatory in nature, the High Court has now suspended the same.

Issuing an interim order, the High Court single judge bench headed by Justice Nimmagadda Venkateswarlu suspended the notification. Further, the State Government, Director of Medical Education have been directed by the court to file counter affidavits in the matter.

The matter has been posted for further hearing after four weeks i.e. on December 7, 2022.

The plea had been filed by five doctors who claimed that the concerned Andhra Pradesh Government notification issued on 10.11.2022 was discriminatory in nature.

As per the concerned notification, the State Government invited applications for filling up altogether 1458 posts of Senior Residents in Andhra Pradesh Medical Education to work in Government Medical and Dental Colleges under the Directorate of Medical Education Services.

It is the eligibility criteria for these posts that has been challenged in the petition. As per the concerned eligibility criteria, "Candidates who studied Post graduation in Government Medical & Dental Colleges of Andhra Pradesh are only eligible to apply."

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As per the latest media report by Deccan Chronicle, the counsel for the petitioner Jada Sravan Kumar contended that the notification issued by government is discriminatory because it allows only post-graduate medical students of government medical and dental colleges to apply for the posts. So, as per the notification, PG students belonging to private medical colleges are not eligible to apply.

It was argued by the counsel for the petitioner doctors that such a norm violated the rules prescribed by the erstwhile Medical Council of India and also the Dental Council of India.

After considering both the parties, the HC bench issued an interim order and suspended the concerned notification. Posting the matter for further hearing after four weeks, the bench has directed the State Government authorities to file counter affidavit in this matter.

Meanwhile, the daily adds that the PG students have already warned the Director of Medical Education to relax the norms and allow even the PG students belonging to the private medical and dental institutes to apply for the posts of senior residents. The doctors have pointed out that if the government does not relax the norms, it will be able to fill up hardly 200-300 seats among the 1,458 posts.