MCI Regulations Allowing 30 percent Of Faculty Positions To Be Reserved For Non-Medical Candidates Not Mandatory: HC

The Division Bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Puneet Gupta was considering a case against Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), where a candidate challenged a recruitment advertisement for Assistant Professor (non-medical) in Clinical Pharmacology under open merit category by the institute, as he was not considered despite having a non-medical background.

The candidate in question is a M.Sc. in Pharmacology and has done his Ph.D in medical pharmacology from a recognized University. Through an advertisement dated 10.01.2012, SKIMS invited applications for filling up four posts of Assistant Professor in Clinical Pharmacology, and in the selection process, two posts came to be filled up, and the two posts remained unfilled. Thereafter, a couple of advertisement notifications were issued; however, for one reason or the other, two vacant posts of Assistant Professor in Clinical Pharmacology could not be filled up.

In the year 2016, SKIMS again invited applications for the post of Assistant Professor in the department of Clinical Pharmacology. Six candidates responded to the Advertisement Notification, and the selection process was conducted by the Apical Selection Committee, in which a doctor with 70.00 points out of 100 was found to be the most meritorious candidate. The post of Assistant Professor, which, as claimed by the SKIMS, was earmarked for the Scheduled Caste category, remained unfilled due to the nonavailability of candidates belonging to the said category.

Feeling aggrieved by the selection and his exclusion, one of the candidates filed a case, which was disposed of by a Bench of this Court vide order dated 12^th May, 2022 by directing the institute to consider him if he made the grade and to take necessary follow-up action for interviewing the petitioner and if the candidate was declared to have emerged successful in the selection process, SKIMS should consider his appointment. However, the Selection Committee had fixed 50 points as a benchmark for selection in the open merit, and the petitioner had obtained only 48.00 points, so the post went to the candidate with the highest points.

An intra-court appeal was again filed where the candidate questioned an advertisement order issued in 2021 and an order dated 4th October, 2023 was passed by the learned Single Judge of the court whereby the court allowed the petition and directed the authorities to consider him against the post of Assistant Professor (non-medical) in the department of Clinical Pharmacology retrospectively. However, SKIMS challenged the order in the high court.

The bench observed that the candidate did not respond to Advertisement Notification No.02 of 2021 dated 17.04.2021 for one post of Assistant Professor in the department of Clinical Pharmacology without indicating the stream medical or non-medical and it is only when his claim about advertisement notification No.07 of 2016 was rejected by the Institute in terms of consideration order dated 30.04.2022 that he approached the Writ Court.

After considering the submissions, the bench observed,

“We hold that in terms of the Regulations, it is not mandatory for a medical college/medical institution to necessarily fill up 30% of the total number of posts in a discipline or even in the department by appointing non-medical students. This lies in the discretion of the medical institution concerned and it is for the institution concerned to appoint even a non-medical student in some of the departments like Pharmacology but while doing so the institution concerned shall ensure that the number of non-medical teachers does not exceed 30% of total number of posts in the department.” Thus, SKIMS is not duty-bound to fill up at least 30% of the total number of posts in each discipline from non-medical candidates.

The court clarified that the candidate in question did not acquire any right to be selected and appointed to the post, which remained unfilled in the selection process initiated vide advertisement notification No.7 of 2016. Since the candidate did not participate in the selection process initiated, vide advertisement dated 17.04.2021, and, therefore, had no right to challenge that notification also. The very basis of throwing a challenge to the advertisement notification No.2 of 2021, i.e. one of the four posts must necessarily be filled up from non-medical candidates in terms of the erstwhile Medical Council of India, now NMC Regulations, is built on a totally wrong premise and a clear misunderstanding of the relevant Regulations, the bench confirmed.

The court added that SKIMS had not framed any selection criteria prior to the commencement of the selection process. Hence, it cannot be said that the benchmark eligibility for selection was framed during cthe urrency of the selection process, and therefore, it cannot be argued by that by fixing the benchmark of 48 points, the SKIMS changed the eligibility criteria or selection criteria midway or after the completion of the selection process.

The Division Bench clarified that

The word “may” used in Article-2 clearly indicates that it is in the discretion of the Medical Institution to appoint non-medical teachers also in some of the departments like, Anatomy, physiology, pharmacology etc. However, while making appointment of nonmedical teachers even in the aforesaid departments, Medical Institute shall ensure that number of such non-medical teachers appointed in the aforesaid departments does not exceed 30% of the total number of posts in the department.”

“A fortiori, there is no mandate upon the medical institute to recruit necessarily 30% of the total number of posts in the department of Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology etc. by appointing non-medical teachers,” it stated.

The High Court noted,

“Even if, a medical Institute appoints, in the department of Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology etc, all teachers from the medical category, it cannot be said that the Institute has violated 30% norm laid down in the Regulations. 30% recruitment from non-medical teachers is only an extent to which the non-medical teachers may be appointed in some of the departments of the medical institute like pharmacology etc.”

“All the teachers in the department of Pharmacology could be from medical stream and there is no mandate of the Regulations to necessarily and mandatorily appoint 30% of the total posts of the department from non-medical students. It is only where non-medical teachers, in view of their merit, are appointed in the department, it is to be ensured by the medical institute concerned that their number does not exceed 30% of the total posts in the department. Viewed thus, the entire edifice of the case of respondent No.1 built on this mis-interpretation of the Regulations would come crumbling down,” the Court explained.

The bench has directed SKIMS to proceed to conclude the selection process in accordance with the law.

“In the context of factual matrix obtaining in the case, we hold that the candidate never acquired any right to be selected and appointed as Assistant Professor in Clinical Pharmacology which remained unfilled in selection process initiated by the SKIMS vide advertisement Notification of 2016 and, therefore, respondent No.1, who had not participated in the selection process will have no locus standi to challenge the advertisement notification dated 17.04.2021 in which the appellant claims to have emerged successful candidate for the lone notified post,” the bench added while disposing of the petition.

Medical Dialgues recently reported that Union Minister of State for Health, Smt. Anupriya Patel informed that under the Teachers Eligibility Qualifications Regulations, 2022, non-medical graduates having M.Sc. and PhD qualifications can be appointed as medical college faculties in the Departments of Anatomy, Physiology, and Biochemistry.

To view the order, click on the link below: