Doctor who challenged selection process asked to pay Rs 50K to successful candidate
A petition filed by a doctor challenging the selection process for the post of a dental doctor in an Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) clinic at Karnal in Haryana was been dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court Wednesday. The court has asked the doctor to pay Rs 50,000 to the successful candidate for delay in her joining, caused by a stay order issued by the court. The HC had ordered the stay as it was not informed that the petitioner doctor had also taken part in the selection process.
A single bench of the HC has ruled that the question of entertaining such petition where the candidate has appeared and participated in the process could not be entertained. “He or she cannot subsequently turn around and contend that the process was unfair or that there was a lacuna therein merely because the result is not palatable,” the court said in the judgment.
The contractual doctor in the union government-run ECHS clinic had challenged the recent results and the selection process for the post of a dental doctor and got a stay order on the process from the High Court. However, while challenging the process, the petitioner doctor had not revealed that he had also participated in the process and had been declared unsuccessful.
The court had ordered a status quo on the services which had allowed the petitioner doctor to continue on his service while as prevented the new doctor, who had secured Ist position in the new selection list for the contractual post, from joining the services. “If the stay order had not been passed, the 7th respondent would naturally have been appointed in ECHS Karnal being in merit position 1,” the court observed.
The court has directed the authorities to appoint the successful doctor in Karnal which happens to be her first option in case of selection and as per merit. “I have every reason to refuse entertaining this petition any further after concealment is exposed and would order the dismissal of the petition with Rs 50, 000 to be paid to 7th respondent for the injury and loss caused to her by being deprived of salary upon a suppression of facts which were actively concealed to obtain a stay order,” the court ordered.
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