Dimapur, August 16 : In a blatant violation of the State Government’s Office Memorandum (OM) issued on June 6 and the High Court’s order August 5, the Health & Family Welfare Department is conducting a ‘Suitability Test for Regularisation’ of 19 contract doctors (2009-11 batch) and 2 X-ray technicians on August 17 at the conference hall of the H&FW.
This was informed in a press note issued by ACAUT Nagaland.
The Suitability Test moved by Maongwati Aier, IAS, Secretary, H&FW, for regularization of contract employees is violative of both the latest OM, 2016 and the HC judgment which not only banned all contract appointments but also barred regularization of contract appointees as well, the press note said.
“The latest OM, 2016, has made explicit mention of Dr. Atouzo Vs. state of Nagaland case whereby the Guwahati High Court, Kohima Bench, rendered illegal the regularization of 13 veterinary doctors and dismissed their appointments with the remarks ‘such regularization was illegal, unconstitutional and arbitrary’.”
“The High Court, quoting extensively from Uma Devi case, noted that the entry of these appointees into the service having been achieved through back door cannot acquire any right and so regularization of their services would amount to negating the prescribed procedure at the cost of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.”
The ACAUT said, it is incumbent upon the H&FW department to not only stop the illegality of the regularization process as conducted by it but to allow all the contract posts in the department to lapse since the 19 doctors were appointed between 2009 and 2011; the necessary 1 year contract period has already lapsed.
The posts of Medical Officers (MO) come under the purview of NPSC examination and therefore the Cabinet or the P&AR department cannot regularize any posts, the press note said.
