High Court · 2025

Mr. Narayan Dut t , St anding Counsel for t he St at e of Ut t arakhand/ respondent nos. 1 & 3.

3. Mr. Rakshit Srivast ava, Advocat e, holding brief of Mr. Ram j i Srivast ava, Advocat e of Ut t arakhand Medical Service Select ion Board.

4. Mr. Vinay Bhat t & Mr. Mukesh Kapruwan, Advocat es t he applicant s I m pleadm ent Applicat ion ( I .A. No. 4 of 2024) .

5. Since com m on quest ions of law and fact are involved in t hese writ pet it ions, t herefore t hey are heard t oget her and are being decided by a com m on j udgm ent . However, for t he sake of brevit y, fact s of Writ Pet it ion ( S/ S) No. 148 of 2024 alone are being considered and discussed.

6. Pet it ioners have becom e overage for t he post of Healt h Worker ( Fem ale) . Thus, feeling aggrieved, t hey have approached t his Court seeking t he following reliefs: - “ i. I ssue a w rit , order or dir ect ion in t he nat ure of m andam us direct ing t he age respondent s relax at ion t o t he pet it ioner s in t he upper age lim it crit eria m axim um upt o t he r equired num ber of y ears respect ively ( 2012 t o 2022) , when no select ion process was init iat ed by t he t o grant t he respondent s t o fill t he y ear- wise vacancies of t he healt h worker fem ale on t he basis of seniorit y and perm it t he pet it ioner s t o part icipat e in t he ongoing select ion process held pur suant t o advert isem ent dat ed 1- 2- 2024 ( Annexure no 1) and consider t he candidat ure of t he pet it ioners for appoint m ent on t he post of Healt h Worker ( Fem ale) . ii. I ssue a writ order or dir ect ion in t he nat ure of cert ior ari t o quash t he condit ion of upper age lim it of 42 y ears of age of t he adv ert isem ent dat ed 1- 2- 2024.”

7. The advert isem ent , issued by Ut t arakhand Medical Service Select ion Board dat ed 1.2.2024 is on record as Annexure- 1 t o t he writ pet it ion. Perusal of t he sam e reveals t hat t he upper age lim it appoint m ent is 42 years, as on 1.7.2023. As m any as 391 vacancies on t he post of Healt h Worker ( Fem ale) , were not ified by t he said adv ert isem ent .

8. Pet it ioners cont end t hat since select ion is not m erit based, but , is m ade on t he basis of seniorit y wit h reference t o year of passing diplom a course, t herefore, a direct ion deserves t o be issued t o t he respondent s t o t reat t he pet it ioners as eligible.

9. Learned St at e Counsel, however, subm it s t hat t he select ion for t he post of Healt h Worker ( Fem ale) was regularly held from t im e t o t im e and t he last select ion was held pursuant t o advert isem ent issued in 2022. Thus, he subm it s t hat pet it ioners cannot cont end t hat because of inordinat e delay on t he par t of t he St at e aut horit ies in holding select ion, t hey becam e overage. He furt her subm it s t hat Clause 8 of t he advert isem ent , whereby t he age lim it was specified, has not been challenged by m ost of t he pet it ioners.

10. Learned St at e Counsel subm it s t hat age relaxat ion t o t he ext ent of one year was grant ed t o t he candidat es t he post of Healt h Worker ( Fem ale) , vide Governm ent order dat ed 26.07.2021.

11. Learned counsels for t he pet it ioners subm it t hat in a sim ilar pet it ion dealing wit h t he post of Pharm acist , held by t he sam e select ing body, a direct ion was issued t o t he St at e Governm ent t o t ake decision on t he represent at ion m ade by t he candidat es, w ho had becom e overage. They subm it t hat t he pet it ioners in t hese pet it ions m ay also be perm it t ed t o m ake represent at ion t o t he com pet ent aut horit y in t he St at e for grant of age relaxat ion.

12. Learned St at e Counsel subm it s t hat he has no obj ect ion if t he writ pet it ions are decided in t erm s of t he j udgm ent rendered in Writ Pet it ion ( S/ S) No. 2090 of 2024 wit h a direct ion t o t he com pet ent aut horit y t o t ake decision regarding prayer of t he pet it ioners for age relaxat ion.

13. Accordingly, t he wr it pet it ions are disposed of wit h libert y t o t he pet it ioners t o approach t he com pet ent aut horit y in t he St at e Governm ent for age relaxat ion. I f pet it ioners m ake represent at ion t o t he Secret ary, Medical Healt h and Fam ily Welfare on or before 21.11.2025, decision t hereupon shall be t aken by t he concerned Secret ary as per law, wit hin t hree m ont hs t hereaft er.

14. For a period of fourt een weeks or t ill decision is t aken in t he m at t er by t he concerned Secret ary, whichever is earlier, t he post s which have been kept reserved pursuant t o t he int erim order passed by t his Court , shall not be filled.

15. Pending applicat ion( s) , if any, st and disposed of.

06.11.2025 ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.) Nav in NAVEEN CHANDRA DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3be23325146e76a0642bdf4943fb9046f487df006da 82a131bb4e4403d3c0a15, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=18167EEFB5CA8CFFD421A103819DA875643 AF56D653D095C6ED9A86DAAB21CE5, cn=NAVEEN CHANDRA