PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa has slammed the Goa government and reinstated the appointment of two applicants who were selected for and appointed to posts at the Goa State Forensics Laboratory, but saw their appointment letters withdrawn on the issue of them being medically unfit to take up the job.
Nigel Anthony Fernandes, 25, and Diptesh Rane, 28, were considered by the Goa Public Service Commission and both were selected and recommended for appointment to the posts of Scientific Assistant (Documents) and Scientific Assistant (Computer Forensics) respectively by the Goa Police. This was after the GPSC panel comprising experts interviewed all the eligible candidates including the petitioners.
Based on the GPSC recommendations, the Director-General of Police offered each of the petitioners the posts for which they were selected and recommended.
The SP requested the Medical Superintendent, GMC to medically examine the petitioners and report whether they are medically fit for the appointment to the posts offered.
The petitioners accordingly attended the GMC and were medically examined. Dr Edwin Gomes, Professor in Medicine, GMC, who, vide communication dated 31.10.2016, informed the SP that the petitioner Nigel Fernandes was having severe amblyopia in the right eye, with normal vision in the left eye. In fact, for binocular vision, he was using the left eye for vision.
Similarly, the petitioner Diptesh Rane was having no vision in the right eye and normal vision in the left eye.
The doctor, therefore, opined that before taking any decision to declare the petitioners unfit, opinion from the office of the Director-General of Police would be necessary.
The Superintendent of Police (HQ) by communication dated 21.12.2016 addressed to the Medical Superintendent, GMC had stated that uniocular vision would definitely hamper expert interpretation, accuracy, and precision of giving an opinion as compared to a person with normal vision in both eyes.
The High Court, however, during an earlier hearing had noticed that the “issue needs to be handled with sensitivity.” “It will be appropriate that the same is looked at by the Head of the Department. We would request the Director General of Police to call the Petitioners for interaction to ascertain whether any via-media can be found out,” the HC ruled in 2018.
Despite several reminders, however, the Police were dragging their feet and instead an attempt was made to advertise posts of Scientific Assistant.
Finally it was through the efforts of the petitioners, who through RTI obtained the report of the meeting that was held in the office of the DGP and included the Director of the Forensic Laboratory, a document that the government desperately tried to suppress that the reality came to light.
A joint meeting of the Director General of Police, Dr Ugam P S Usgaonkar (GMC) and Director of the Forensic Lab Dr Waghmare ruled that they “are of the opinion that Nigel Anthony Savio Fernandes and Diptesh Mahadev Rane can be considered for the posts of Scientific Assistant in the field of Documents and Computer Forensic, respectively.”
“It is quite clear that Dr Waghmare who had earlier, together with the scientific officers under his charge made a report dated 08.12.2016, at a later stage, in the presence of Dr Usgaonkar and the DGP reviewed his position and declared in no uncertain terms, together with the DGP and Dr Usgaonkar that both the petitioners can be considered for the appointment to the posts offered to them. It is quite unfortunate that this crucial document was not even placed before the Court by the respondents even though on at least three occasions time was sought to place the same on record,” the High Court ruled.
“By overlooking the most relevant and crucial material, the Government could not have concluded that the petitioners were unfit for the appointment to the posts that were offered to them. The bureaucrats, in this case, have ignored the opinion of Dr Usgaonkar, Head of Department, Ophthalmology, GMC which is the authorised institution for issuing medical certificates of fitness. The bureaucrats have also ignored the opinion of the DGP and Dr Waghmare, the two persons most intimately concerned with the functioning of the Goa State Forensic Laboratory where the petitioners were offered appointments as Scientific Assistants based entirely on their merit as determined by the constitutional authority i.e. the GPSC. This is, according to us, quite sufficient for quashing the impugned memoranda. The impugned memoranda or for that matter the decision of the Government is quite unreasonable because it ignores the vital and relevant material and acts based on material that was quite irrelevant,” the High Court ruled.
“This is a case where the expert opinion rendered by none other than Dr Usgaonkar, the DGP, and Dr Waghmare is sought to be not just second-guessed but discarded without any sufficient cause and based on some cursory information obtained from other States. Therefore, this is a case where the bureaucrats have attempted to ignore the expert opinion and thereby deny the petitioners the appointments for the posts to which they were selected by an expert agency i.e. the GPSC,” the HC observed.
“We allow these petitions, quash and set aside the impugned memoranda dated 08.12.2016 and direct the respondents to appoint the petitioners to the post of Scientific Assistant (Documents) and Scientific Assistant (Computer Forensics) within four weeks from today. The respondents shall pay costs of Rs 15,000 to each of the petitioners within four weeks from today,” the HC ruled.
