Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 4: In a scathing indictment of the Jammu & Kashmir Health and Medical Education Department, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu Bench, has ruled against the arbitrary removal of contractual medical faculty, terming it a clear violation of statutory rules and constitutional protections.
Hearing a batch of petitions filed by medical professionals including Dr Jyoti Gupta and Dr Etti Shree, the Tribunal found that the Government’s decision to cap tenure at three years, despite satisfactory service, was in direct contradiction to Rule 4 of SRO 364 of 2020 – which permits extension of appointments up to six years.
The Bench comprising Rajinder Singh Dogra and Ram Mohan Johri categorically stated that “executive instructions cannot override statutory rules framed under Article 309 of the Constitution of India”. It also observed that denying extension without cause constituted hostile discrimination and violated Article 14 of the Constitution.
The applicants, engaged as Registrars and Tutors in various Government Medical and Dental Colleges, had approached the Tribunal after being abruptly denied further engagement, even though their posts had not been filled through regular selection.
Calling out the Government’s “unjust, illegal and unconstitutional action”, the Tribunal directed authorities to reconsider the applicants’ extension requests and adhere strictly to the provisions of SRO 364. It also warned against the use of executive orders to “whittle down” rights granted under statutory rules.
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