Notice issued on plea to quash medical officers’ recruitment

The Madras High Court has ordered issuing of notices to officials on a petition, which sought to quash a recent TNPSC notification for recruiting Assistant Medical Officers to serve in Indian medicine hospitals across the State contending only the Medical Recruitment Board (MRB) has the jurisdiction to recruit them.

On hearing a petition by D. Uma Maheswari, Justice K. Ravichandra Baabu issued notices of motion to Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, TNPSC Secretary, MRB Chairman and the Secretary of Indian Medicine and Homeopathy returnable in six weeks.

“Any appointment made is subject to the result of the writ petition,” the judge said.

Referring to the notification made by the TNPSC on March 26 this year for recruiting Assistant Medical Officers with specialisation in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy, the petitioner, who is an Ayurveda doctor submitted that since 2002, it was the Medical Recruitment Board and not the TNPSC which had the jurisdiction to recruit them.

She further submitted that once a specialised body for recruitment was constituted for appointment doctors, the TNPSC did not have jurisdiction to conduct the recruitment of medical officers.

She contended that the syllabus given by the TNPSC was irrelevant and also not related to the recruitment.

She further prayed to quash the notification issued by TNPSC on March 26 this year.

Petitioner says it was Medical Recruitment Board and not TNPSC that had jurisdiction to recruit Assistant Medical Officers