Set up Permanent Medical Board for transparency in Recruitment: HC orders State, slams KPSC

Bengaluru: While considering a plea by a candidate who had been rejected for the post of Motor Vehicle Inspector on the basis of a wrong medical board report, the Karnataka High Court bench has recently directed the State Government for constituting a permanent medical board for ensuring transparency in recruitment to government jobs made through Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC).

Taking note of the fact that the wrong report had been given by the medical board set up by KPSC, the bench observed that genuine candidates should not be deprived and justice should be done in all fairness. This would require not giving a free hand to the KPSC to choose its own medical board and experts during recruitment, the bench comprising of Justice B. Veerappa and Justice S. Rachaiah was quoted noting by PTI.

Opining that the permanent medical board was required for ensuring that genuine candidates would not be deprived of opportunities, the bench observed that otherwise the officers of KPSC would refer either Bowring hospital or Minto hospital according to the whims and fancies based on the candidature.

Such observations came from the bench while it was considering a plea by Shivananje Gowda B N, who had applied for the post of Motor Vehicle Inspector. However, a medical certificate was issued to the petitioner by Dr G Nandakumar of Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital falsely mentioning that a candidate was colour-blind and half a centimetre shorter than the required height. Based on the certificate, issued on July 16, 2021, the candidature of the petitioner was rejected by the KPSC.

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As per the latest media report by The Hindu, the petitioner had produced a medical certificate from the same hospital along with his application certifying that he had fulfilled all the medical requirements.

The report submitted to the court revealed that he did not suffer from colour-blindness and qualified for the post of Motor Vehicle Inspector. "Unfortunately, on the basis of wrong assessment made by the Medical Board, Bowring Hospital, his candidature was rejected," the court observed in its recent judgement. The HC quashed the rejection of his candidature and directed KPSC to reconsider the claim of the petitioner for the post of Motor Vehicle Inspector as he has fulfilled the eligibility of minimum physical standard test under the rules.

"It is high time for the State Government to appoint a permanent medical board to ensure that there must be transparency in the selection process instead of giving a free hand to the KPSC to choose a medical board and experts in all the recruitments to be conducted by the KPSC," observed the HC bench.

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