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2019 DIGILAW 510 (CAL)

Ganti Prajeet v. Union of India

2019-04-18

SAMBUDDHA CHAKRABARTI

body2019
JUDGMENT : 1. Pursuant to an advertisement issued by Coal India Limited the petitioner applied for the post of Management Trainee in October 2017. The petitioner's name was included in the list of successful candidates. He was thereafter called for an interview and on October 24, 2017 he was offered the employment subject to his being found medically fit. 2. The case of the petitioner is that on November 22, 2017, he was called for a medical examination and in the report of the medical examination it was mentioned that he was suffering from diabetes mellitus. It was also mentioned that he would be re-examined after about a month. In the subsequent medical examination he was declared unfit due to colour blindness. He made an appeal before the appropriate authority for re-medical examination which was done by the respondent no. 2 and this time he was found unfit for the job due to both diabetes mellitus and colour blindness. Subsequently, he received a communication from the General Manager (Personnel/Recruitment) of Coal India Limited, i.e., the respondent no. 3 intimating him that the Medical Board had declared the petitioner unfit due to diabetes mellitus, hypertension and colour blindness. He further came to know that pursuant to the medical re-examination 13 trainees who were found to be medically fit were posted in subsidiary companies. 3. The petitioner has assailed the medical certificates as containing different diseases and different medical examinations. He got himself tested independently at a private hospital which certified that he was not suffering from colour blindness. 4. The petitioner alleges that the disqualification on the ground of medical unfitness was in violation of the Medical Attendance Rules of the respondent no. 2 and the Mines Rules, 1955 and were in violation of the principle of natural justice. The minimum physical standard required for recruitment to the posts other than those of Group - A do not state that a candidate would be disqualified in case he is diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and colour blindness. The respondents failed to consider that the petitioner is guided by Group - B of the Medical Attendance Rules which would be clear from the job profile of a material management employee. None of the Rules states that a material management trainee would be disqualified for appointment if he found to be suffering from diabetes mellitus or colour blindness. 5. The respondents failed to consider that the petitioner is guided by Group - B of the Medical Attendance Rules which would be clear from the job profile of a material management employee. None of the Rules states that a material management trainee would be disqualified for appointment if he found to be suffering from diabetes mellitus or colour blindness. 5. The petitioner has prayed for a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents to set aside and rescind the letter, dated June 27, 2018 intimating the finding of the Medical Board declaring him unfit due to the diseases as mentioned above, a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondents to appoint the petitioner in the employment of the respondent no. 2 and other ancillary reliefs. 6. The respondent no. 3 filed a report in the form of an affidavit. He refers to Clause 9(iv) of the concerned advertisement wherein it was recorded that before joining service the selected candidates would have to undergo an initial medical examination by the company medical board as per the Medical Attendance Rules. In the appointment letter issued to the petitioner it was specifically mentioned that his appointment was subject to the medical fitness as per the rules of the company. He had accepted the terms and conditions of the offer of appointment. He repeatedly appeared before the medical examinations which had declared the petitioner unfit due to colour blindness. After he was declared unfit by the medical board the petitioner along with other candidates who were also declared medically unfit made appeal for re-consideration and on their appeal the management decided to hold further medical examination which was conducted on June 11 and 12, 2018. This time the petitioner was declared unfit due to three grounds as mentioned earlier. Therefore, since the petitioner was declared medically unfit the question of providing any employment did not arise and the offer of appointment stood cancelled. 7. In course of hearing the point cropped up for consideration was about the exact nature of job for which the petitioner was appointed. The Court he directed the respondents to clarify the position by filing a supplementary affidavit mentioning the scope of the work of a material management trainee and how the diseases that the petitioner had found to be suffering from was likely to affect the performance of the job by the petitioner. 8. The Court he directed the respondents to clarify the position by filing a supplementary affidavit mentioning the scope of the work of a material management trainee and how the diseases that the petitioner had found to be suffering from was likely to affect the performance of the job by the petitioner. 8. Pursuant to the said direction the Senior Manager (Personnel/Recruitment) of the respondent no. 2 filed a supplementary affidavit which reiterated the statements made by the respondent no. 3 in his report. It also mentioned that the post in question was under the material management discipline. Men, material and machine were the important factors or components of production which determined the quality and quantity of production. The persons employed in the said discipline handling the procurement, inspection, quality check, supervision and monitoring of materials are linked with the coal production. Persons who are recruited as management trainees in E-2 grade in all the disciplines including material management discipline are elevated to the post of the assistant manager in grade E-3 only after completion of successful training of one year and subsequently they become eligible for promotion to the next higher positions and grades. 9. The supplementary affidavit further mentions that management trainees are trained up in different jobs so that they can cope up with the jobs that can be assigned to them after completion of the training period. The affidavit mentioned the particular jobs that all the executives of material management discipline including the management trainees are required to perform. This has also given the key performance indicator for executives including management trainees of the material management discipline for the purpose of performance appraisal. The respondents have given a long list of 29 items as forming part of the key performance indicator. Task can be assigned by the reporting officer to a management trainee based on the targeted production and business requirement of respective units, mines etc. of his posting which are in remote locations far away from city. While discharging the duties the executives of material management discipline may be required to visit inside the mine for inspection, quality check, disposal of scraps, coding of the materials etc. In case the executive concerned is suffering from colour blindness, hypertension etc. it would be very difficult for him to go inside the mine for smooth and effective discharge of his duties. In case the executive concerned is suffering from colour blindness, hypertension etc. it would be very difficult for him to go inside the mine for smooth and effective discharge of his duties. In the supplementary affidavit the respondents have specifically mentioned that management trainees of any discipline are recruited within the age group of 21 to 30 years so that they can perform the duties with full energy and move around as and when required in a short notice to overcome the age gap in the industry keeping in view that they all are mentally and physically sound. 10. The respondents have also expressed an apprehension that since the petitioner has been suffering not only colour blindness but also from diabetes mellitus and hypertension at the age of 30 the same will not only hamper his smooth, regular and effective discharging of the concerned assignments but they are likely to put unnecessary financial burden on the company from the very early stage of his employment. Medical Attendance Rules stipulate that examiners will use their own discretion about the scope of the general physical examination in each case and will judge the cases on their merits taking into consideration the prospective duties of the examinees. The question of fitness involves the future as well as the present. The main object of medical examination is to secure continuous effective service to prevent early retirement and payment in case of premature death or payment of accidents compensation attributable to physical deficiencies and unusual medical expenditure on employees of poor physiques. 11. It would thus be evident from description of job profile of a management trainee that the duties required to be performed by him comes under the definition of Clause 1 of the Medical Attendance Rules. Section 2(h) of the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973 defines mines which provides that anything used for the purpose of mine is mine. It will thus be very clear from the description of the job profile of the management trainee that they relate to mines and are directly connected with the coal mining jobs. 12. Mr. Guha Thakurta, the learned Advocate for the petitioner, did not wish to file a rejoinder to the same. 13. It will thus be very clear from the description of the job profile of the management trainee that they relate to mines and are directly connected with the coal mining jobs. 12. Mr. Guha Thakurta, the learned Advocate for the petitioner, did not wish to file a rejoinder to the same. 13. Thus one thing stands out very clearly that a management trainee in the material management discipline is required to discharge various duties starting from scrutinizing the indents and materials received from other departments, inspecting supply to check quality and quantity, monitoring the contractor's performance for any breach and to take appropriate action, if required, taking measures for preservation of materials from damage, theft or pilferage to handling grievances of service providers and vendors. It is a whole spectrum of work connected with the material management discipline that has to be performed by him. The key performance indicator for the concerned post to which the petitioner applied has a very long list to works which he will have to perform. It becomes also necessary that while discharging the duties the executives of the material management discipline may be required to go inside the mines for inspection, quality check etc. This is a job which can hardly be performed by an employee suffering from colour blindness. The petitioner alleged that he is guided by Group - B and not Group - A of the Medical Attendance Rules of the respondent no. 2 company and the respondents failed to appreciate the same. The Rules do not say that a person guided by Group - B would be disqualified in case he is diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and colour blindness. 14. Such a claim has been completely answered by the respondents in the supplementary affidavit. The post for which the petitioner had applied comes within the definition of Clause 1 of the Medical Attendance Rules. I quite agree with the submission made by the respondents that after the promalgamation of the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, anything used for the purpose of mine is also a mine and the job description of a material management trainee in course of training and, thereafter, relates to mines and are therefore connected with the mining job. I quite agree with the submission made by the respondents that after the promalgamation of the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, anything used for the purpose of mine is also a mine and the job description of a material management trainee in course of training and, thereafter, relates to mines and are therefore connected with the mining job. The respondents may insist that a prospective employee who has to discharge a varied nature of works and who suffers from various physical problems as that of the petitioner should not be employed in their concern. 15. It is not a case that the petitioner is suffering from colour blindness alone. He is suffering from diabetes mellitus and hypertension also. The petitioner's allegation that there are conflicts in the various medical certificates issued by the respondents where he has been variously shown as suffering from one or more of the diseases that he has been ultimately found to be suffering from, has also no basis. It is possible to monitor the assessment of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in a certain medical examination. The fact that all the diseases were not mentioned in all certificates does not render any one of the findings invalid. 16. It is a trite knowledge that both diabetes mellitus and hypertension are systemic ailments and have the potential of affecting an individual in varied ways. In other words, these two diseases have the potential of affecting different organs of the human body in the short or long run. I quite appreciate the stand taken by the respondents that if an employee diagnosed with suffering from these two systemic ailments is appointed by the respondent company it may have to incur periodic expenditure over him for treatment of the health related issues and may not get the full result during the entire length of his expected tenure in service. 17. The age at which a person is generally employed is likely to make him fit in all respects to deliver the best results and such an employee in the age group of appointment is expected to be at the height of his fitness. A person detected with hypertension or diabetes mellitus in his 50s stands very differently from a person who has developed it in his 20s. The prognosis and the likely consequence of having the diseases at a rather early age are very different. 18. A person detected with hypertension or diabetes mellitus in his 50s stands very differently from a person who has developed it in his 20s. The prognosis and the likely consequence of having the diseases at a rather early age are very different. 18. The petitioner cannot decide whether for appointment to a certain post these two diseases or any disease may be a disqualification or not. It is always the employer's decision as the company alone knows the kind of work he will have to discharge after appointment. A similar question cropped up for consideration in the case of Bhura Dula Mali Vs. Basanti Bai, reported in 1994 SC 1241 when the Supreme Court held that the Court had no jurisdiction to direct for appointment to get over the medical opinion. It is an inherent right of an employer to be satisfied about the medical fitness of a person to be appointed. 19. Judged from any point of view it cannot be said that the respondents had in any manner acted improperly in not finding the petitioner medically fit to be appointed to the concerned post. On the contrary, the case sought to be made out by the petitioner about the lack of the requirement of the medical fitness for the concerned posts has no basis. 20. For the reasons stated above the writ petition is devoid of merit. The writ petition is dismissed. 21. There shall be no order as to the costs. 22. Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties on priority basis upon compliance of all requisite formalities.