The High Court dismissed the petitioner's writ petition seeking an extension of employment age from 65 to 70 years. The court held that policy guidelines explicitly deny such benefits to Ayush doctors, restricting their service term to 65 years.
The writ petition was dismissed; no extension of age was granted.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
Court No. - 83
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 2422 of 2020
Petitioner :- Dr. Akhilesh Gupta Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Bachchu Lal Yadav Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Hemendra Kumar Mishra
Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J.
The petitioner was appointed as Ayush Doctor in the year 2010 under the National Health Mission U.P., Lucknow on contract basis. The petitioner has crossed 65 years as on date and his services have been discontinued. In this writ petition, the petitioner claims that he is entitled to continue till the age of 70 years.
Sri Virendra Pratap Singh, learned standing counsel and Sri Hemendra Kumar Mishra, learned counsel for respondent no.3 contend that the Ayush Doctors are entitled to work only upto 65 years of age. The benefit of extension of age from 65 years to 70 years is only available to medical officers and specialists. Such benefit is specifically denied to Ayush Medical Officer. The relevant policy guidelines are extracted hereinunder:
"The employment term for the contractual staff shall be from the age of 18 years upto age of 65 years. Exemption shall be allowed for the medical officers and specialist (except AYUSH medical officers and Specialist as per guideline issued vide letter no.03/SPMU/NHM/AYUSH/Manav Sansadhan/2018-19/2457 dated 18.06.2019) posted at health facilities to work after 65 years of age upto 70 years of age, subject to medical fitness report issued by the Chief Medical Officer."
In such view of the matter, the petitioner's claim for grant of extension till the age of 70 years is misconceived. The petitioner has called attention to a somewhat different version of the same guidelines of the National Health Mission in his writ petition. The version of the policy guidelines brought in the record by the petitioner in the writ petition is disbelieved. The document appended by the respondent State authorities bringing relevant guidelines in the record is accepted. The order dated 3.5.2019 and 10.8.2020 on which reliance has been placed for to be read consistently with the guidelines for employment of contractual staff (as extracted in the preceding para of this writ petition).
In case, some Ayush Doctors have been granted extension in the teeth of the Government Policy the Mission Director is directed to take appropriate action in the matter within a period of one month from the date of receipt of copy of this order. A copy of
this order be forwarded to Mission Director for appropriate action.
The claim of the petitioner is misconceived.
The writ petition is liable to be dismissed and is dismissed. Order Date :- 12.10.2020 S.S.
2 issues framed by the court
Whether an Ayush Doctor appointed on contract basis is entitled to employment extension up to the age of 70 years beyond 65 years.
Whether policy guidelines permitting extended age limits for medical officers apply to Ayush Medical Officers.
1 provisions across 1 enactments
Dr. Akhilesh Gupta
State Of U.P.
Ajay Bhanot
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
