Delhi HC Rejects Private Doctor's Opinion to Judge Medical Fitness of an Aspiring Police Force Candidate

Delhi HC does not find merit in accepting private doctor's opinion to judge the medical fitness of an aspiring police force candidate

A Division Bench of Justices Asha Menon and Rajiv Sahai Endlaw held that a private doctor's opinion contrary to the doctors of the Armed Forces or Police Forces can’t be taken into consideration to assess the medical fitness of a police force aspirant.  

The petitioner was declared medically unfit because she was “Carrying Angle > 20° Both Side”. 

This decision came while the bench was dealing with a writ petition filed by an aspirant to the post of Constable in the Central Armed Police Forces. At the stage of medical examination, the aspirant Priyanka was declared medically unfit because she was “Carrying Angle > 20° Both Side”. 

she consulted an orthopaedic surgeon in the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, Karnataka, wherein the doctor declared her medically fit and held that “there is a bit Cubitus Valgus carrying angle < 20° (18°)”. The Review Medical Board again declared her unfit for the same reason. However, the petitioner chose to disregard the opinion of the board and proceeded with an application to the Central Reserve Police Force. In her defence, she claimed that she was declared unfit as there was no specialist doctor to make a proper assessment.

The standard of physical fitness for the Police Forces and the Armed Forces more stringent in comparison. Delhi HC

The petitioner pleaded for specialist doctors in the Review Medical Board referring to the Uniform Guidelines for Medical Examination Test of combined recruitment. she also got herself diagnosed at Columbia Asia and Aster CMI Hospital to support her case.

However, when the bench questioned her source of information for verifying whether the board has specialist doctors or not, her response was not found to be satisfactory. The bench pointed out that the standard of level of physical fitness expected for the Police Forces and the Armed Forces is much more stringent in comparison to civilian employment. The court was not in favour of accepting private medical opinion in such cases as private practitioners might not be aware of the rigorous nature of the job. 

The bench found no merit in the case as even the petitioner's specialists found that she suffered from ‘cubital valgus’. The petitioner had availed of all the opportunities to get a second opinion during the appeal made to the medical board itself.

Government would also be saddled with a Police Force where personnel would seek "soft postings" because of their health conditions and low medical category- Delhi HC