DIMAPUR — The state’s Health and Family Welfare department has clarified its position on the regularisation of 98 Covid-19 medical officer appointees following protests launched by the Nagaland Medical Students’ Association (NMSA).

In a press release issued on Sunday, the department stated that the decision to regularise the appointees was taken in compliance with an order of the Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court, dated August 1, 2025.

The court had dismissed the writ petitions filed by the NMSA, which sought to challenge the state government’s special recruitment drive for medical officers who served during the Covid-19 pandemic, it stated.

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According to the release, the court observed that the petitioners had “no locus standi” to challenge the policy decision, as they were not aggrieved parties, and failed to establish grounds for interference under Article 226 of the Constitution. With this ruling, the interim order of November 21, 2024, which had earlier suspended the recruitment drive, stood vacated.

The Health department informed that, in line with the court’s directive, it has taken up the regularisation process through a departmental screening committee as a “one-time dispensation” for the 98 medical officers. This was formalised through a notification issued on August 18, 2025.

It further pointed out that since the petitioners have already filed an appeal before the High Court, the matter remains sub judice. In such circumstances, it maintained, “any form of agitation is unwarranted.”