Recruitment Medical Board's Disability Assessment Prevails Over CMHO Certificate: Rajasthan High Court Dismisses Writ

The petitioner applied for a post in the Specially Abled category with a certificate of 29.11.2017 from the Chief Medical & Health Officer (CMHO) of District Sriganganagar, recording a 48% locomotor disability in his right limb due to post-traumatic reasons (para 3). An earlier CMHO certificate of 06.10.2011 had recorded a 40% disability in his leg (para 2). To verify the certificates of all candidates in that category, the Recruitment Agency constituted a Medical Board of four specialists, including an orthopaedic specialist (paras 2, 4). On 16.09.2023 the Board found the disability incorrectly certified and assessed it at 18 to 20% in his right ankle (para 5). He challenged the rejection of his application on that basis (paras 1, 5).

The Court noted that the petitioner did not allege hostile discrimination: the Medical Board was formed for the entire category of candidates seeking benefits as Specially Abled, not for him alone. Nor did he claim a permanent disability such as a bone deformity or shortening of the leg (para 7). His case rested entirely on the CMHO's certificate. That certificate did not inspire confidence, as it named neither the physician nor his specialty, and it was unclear what competence he had to certify a 48% disability (para 8). Even if the certificate were believed, it could not take precedence over the opinion of a Board of specialists in their streams, constituted for all the candidates (para 9). Nor would the Court sit in appeal over the opinion of the orthopaedic specialist on the Board. Unless there was mala fides, which was clearly not the case, it would refrain from interfering with the opinion of domain experts, which is best left to them, and would not substitute its own discretion for that of an expert (para 10). The petition was therefore devoid of merits (para 11).