Bombay High Court
Dr. Amit Kumarlal Motwani Dnb Resident vs The Union Of India Through The Secretary ... on 2 August, 2024
Author: A.S. Chandurkar
Bench: A.S. Chandurkar
2024:BHC-AS:30992-DB
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO.1853 OF 2024
Dr. Amit Kumarlal Motwani, ]
DNB Resident / General Medicine, ]
Jupiter Lifeline Hospital, Thane ] .. Petitioner
Versus
1. The Union of India, ]
Through Ministry of Health & Family ]
Welfare, New Delhi. ]
2. National Board of Examinations in ]
Medical Enclave, New Delhi. ]
3. Amaltas Institute of Medical Sciences, ]
Dewas, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. ]
4. The Head of the Institute, ]
Jupiter Hospital, Thane. ] .. Respondents
Mr. M.D. Lonkar with Mr. Om M. Lonkar, Advocates for the Petitioner.
Ms. Gargi U. Warunjikar, Advocate for Respondent No.1.
Mr. Ganesh K. Gole with Mr. Viraj Shelatkar, Advocates for Respondent
No.2-NBE.
CORAM : A.S. CHANDURKAR &
RAJESH S. PATIL, JJ
DATE : 2ND AUGUST, 2024.
ORAL JUDGMENT : { Per A.S. Chandurkar, J. }
1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith and heard learned counsel for
the parties.
2. The challenge raised in this writ petition is to the communication
dated 10th November 2023 by which the candidature of the petitioner for
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pursuing the DNB Post MBBS Course in General Medicine came to be
cancelled on the ground that the petitioner had availed leave exceeding a
period of one year.
3. After completion of his MBBS Degree, the petitioner was granted
registration to undertake post graduate education at the respondent no.3-
Institute. The petitioner has joined the said Institution on 26 th June 2019.
It is the case of the petitioner that he was diagnosed with a chronic kidney
ailment and was advised kidney transplant. The petitioner therefore was
on leave from 12th December 2019 to 23rd November 2020. In the
meanwhile, the on-going accreditation of the respondent no.3-Institute
came to be withdrawn by the respondent no.2-National Board of
Examinations - NBE and the admission of the petitioner was re-located at
the respondent no.4-Institute. He accordingly joined the said Institute on
26th November 2020. It is the further case of the petitioner that on 26 th
November 2020, the respondent no.3-Institute brought the fact of availing
leave to the notice of the NBE. The NBE undertook communication with
the respondent no.3-Institute and ultimately it revealed that the leave
availed from 12th December 2019 to 23rd November 2020 exceeded the
permissible limits. On that ground, the cancellation of the petitioner's
candidature came to be effected by the impugned communication.
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4. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and we have
perused the documents on record. Under the Leave Rules framed by the
NBE, a DNB Trainee can avail maximum leave of thirty days in a year
excluding regular duty off. Extension of the DNB training period beyond
the scheduled completion date is permissible in extra-ordinary
circumstances with prior approval of the NBE. In the reply filed on behalf
of the NBE it has been stated that the fact that the petitioner had availed
of leave from 12th December 2019 to 23rd November 2020 on medical
grounds had not been informed by the respondent no.3 to the NBE. In
paragraph 9 of the said affidavit, it has been stated as under :-
"9. I say that the respondent no.2 considering the
aforesaid leaves of the Board could have cancelled the
candidature of the petitioner as he has failed to follow
the Leave Guidelines of the respondent no.2, however
the respondent no.2 refrained from taking coercive
action against the petitioner. I say that instead of
cancelling the candidature of the petitioner, the
respondent no.2 had accepted the joining of the
petitioner in the Jupiter Hospital, Maharashtra."
5. From the aforesaid stand of the NBE it can be gathered that despite
the petitioner's absence, his admission was re-located at the respondent
no.4-Institute wherein the petitioner has now completed his mandatory
training of three years. In other words, though the admission of the
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petitioner could have been cancelled on this count, the NBE refrained
from doing so and thereafter re-located his admission.
6. The fact that the petitioner was on leave on account of his kidney
ailment is not disputed. His availing of leave from 30 th November 2020 to
30th June 2021 was approved and accepted by the NBE vide its
communication dated 31st December 2021. It is only on account of non-
communication by the respondent no.3 to the NBE of the leave availed by
the petitioner for the earlier period from 20 th December 2019 to 23rd
November 2020 that the present situation has arisen. As noted above,
even the NBE did not deem it appropriate to cancel the petitioner's
admission and permitted his re-location. The Leave Rules permit extension
to the completion of the DNB Training under extra-ordinary circumstances
with prior approval of the NBE.
7. In the facts of the present case, when the petitioner was required to
avail medical leave on account of his kidney ailment after which his
admission was permitted to be re-located, we are of the view that for
genuine medical reasons that were beyond the control of the petitioner, he
ought to be permitted to complete his DNB Training by extending the
training period. The respondent no.4-Institute has now issued a DNB
Training Completion Certificate to the petitioner on 21 st July 2024. No
useful purpose would be now served by upholding the cancellation of the
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petitioner's candidature for an earlier period especially when his leave for
the subsequent period has been accepted. Though the learned counsel for
the NBE sought to rely upon the decision in Guru Nanak Dev University
Vs. Parminder Kr. Bansal and Ors., (1993) 4 SCC 401 to support the
impugned communication, we are satisfied that for circumstances beyond
the petitioner's control, he was required to avail such leave.
8. Hence, for aforesaid reasons, the impugned communication dated
10th November 2023 issued by the NBE is quashed. The candidature of the
petitioner at the respondent no.4-Institute for completing his DNB
Training is upheld.
9. Rule is made absolute in aforesaid terms. No costs.
[ RAJESH S. PATIL, J. ] [ A.S. CHANDURKAR, J. ]
Digitally
signed by
SNEHA
SNEHA ABHAY 905-WP-1853-2024.doc
ABHAY DIXIT Dixit
DIXIT Date:
2024.08.05
18:03:55
+0530
