SRINAGAR: Acting Chief Justice of State High Court Justice Alok Aradhe on Saturday directed respondents to accord petitioner the benefit of weightage of marks for serving in inaccessible/difficult area for a period of two years and thereafter, to take a decision with regard to his eligibility for admission to the course in question viz MD/MS/PG Diploma.

The court direction came in a petition whereby it was declared that the impugned action of respondent in the form of impugned Notification No.015-BOPEE of 2018 dated March 13, 2018 and also Annexure-II appended thereto in so far as it relates to the eligible Medical Officers entitled to weightage by way of incentives under and in terms of Proviso to Regulation 9(4) of the Medical Council of India, Post Graduate Medical Education, Regulation 2000 as amended vide Notification dated February 15, 2012 read with Notification No.MCI-18(1)/2018-MED./100 dated April 5, 2018 and also the mandate of law declared on the subject by the Supreme Court of India in Dinesh Singh Chouhan Case, reported in (2016) 9 SCC 749, was totally arbitrary and ultra-vires the power and authority as by law vested in the respondent as the selection body, non-est in law and liable to be interdicted, be also issued in favour of the petitioner and against the respondents.

Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe after hearing both the sides observed that Public Health Center, Sangerwani, District Shopian has been defined to be an inaccessible area and the petitioner has remained posted there for two years therefore, he is entitled to weightage of marks by taking into account his service in a difficult/ inaccessible area for two years. “So far as the contention that the case of the petitioner does not fall in SRO 201 of 2006 is concerned, by SRO 201 of 2006, the Article 41-BBBBB of J&K Civil Services Regulations has been inserted, which provides that compensatory allowance/ border allowance shall be allowed to the Government servants at the rates given in Annexure B to this Chapter. In other words, SRO 201 of 2006 does not define difficult or remote areas and defines the areas only for the purpose of compensatory allowance/ border allowance. Therefore, the contention of the respondents that since PHC Sangerwani, District Shopian is not included in the SRO 201 and, therefore, he is not entitled to weightage of marks on the basis of his two years’ service in difficult and remote areas, cannot be accepted”, the court observed and disposed of the petition with the direction to the respondents to accord the petitioner benefit of weightage of marks for serving in inaccessible/difficult area.

The court observed that it is well settled in law that regulations framed by Medical Council of India under Section 33 of the Medical Council of India Act, 1956 have statutory force and are binding on the State Government. “Proviso to Regulation 9(iv) provides that the candidates, who have served in remote areas or difficult areas or rural areas have to be given weightage up to maximum of 30 per cent of the marks obtained in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test and the remote and difficult areas shall be such as defined by the State Government”, the court observed.