Supreme Court rejects plea to alter January order on regularisation of Nagaland’s Covid-era medical officers, listing matter September 21
DIMAPUR — The Supreme Court has refused to recall or modify its January 16 order in the case involving the regularisation of medical officers appointed during the Covid-19 pandemic in Nagaland.
A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi, hearing Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 1480 of 2026 filed by Abolu N Yeptho and others against the State of Nagaland and others, said that it was “not inclined to recall, modify or vary” the January 16 order and rejected the application.
The applicants had argued that the January 16 order effectively recognised the regularisation of 98 medical officers, while, according to them, only 83 were bona fide medical officers who had served as Covid-19 appointees.
They had also sought consideration for appointment on the same footing as the 98 medical officers regularised under the State’s Special Recruitment Drive (SRD), pending a final decision on their SLP.
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Alternatively, they asked the state to apply the same criteria to all medical officers who had rendered similar Covid-19 service. The applicants contended that they should not be treated differently merely because their contractual appointments had ended, particularly since there was no Covid-19 emergency when the SRD was conducted in August 2024.
After hearing the parties, the Bench declined to revisit its January 16 order.
The Court, however, allowed a separate application for deletion of the names of pro forma respondent Nos. 5, 6 and 7, at the risk and cost of the petitioners.
The latest order does not bring the main SLP to an end. The petition challenges the December 11, 2025 judgement of the Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court in WA No. 32 of 2025. The Supreme Court has directed that the matter be listed next on September 21, 2026.
In its January 16 order, the Supreme Court had issued notice on the petitioners’ challenge to the High Court judgement and made it clear that their claim would have no bearing on appointments already made by the state.
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