The Calcutta High Court delivered a significant ruling on the promotion of medical faculty in Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) institutions. The Court upheld the decision of the Director General of ESIC, rejecting a writ petition challenging the denial of promotion of an Assistant Professor to the post of Associate Professor. The Court emphasized that eligibility for promotion must comply with both ESIC Recruitment Regulations and the National Medical Commission (NMC) norms, noting that the period spent pursuing a super-specialty course cannot be counted as teaching experience.
The applicant, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at ESI-PGIMSR, Maniktala, had joined the ESIC in 2016. She was granted extraordinary leave to pursue a DM (Clinical Haematology) super-specialty course between 2016 and 2019. After resuming duty, she was transferred to ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Joka. Expecting promotion to Associate Professor, the applicant was not included in the promotion list, prompting her to file representations and subsequently approach the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Kolkata. The Tribunal had directed ESIC to reconsider her promotion. The Director General, however, reaffirmed that she was unfit for promotion as the period of extraordinary leave could not be counted towards teaching experience.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the 2015 ESIC Regulations required only five years of regular service for promotion, which the applicant had completed. He contended that since the 2015 Regulations are subject to NMC norms, and the applicant had already served the requisite duration, the leave for pursuing the super-specialty should count toward teaching experience.
On the other hand, ESIC’s counsel contended that the NMC 2019 Regulations clearly require four years of actual teaching and research experience as an Assistant Professor. The period spent on extraordinary leave for higher studies did not involve teaching duties and, therefore, could not be counted for promotion eligibility.
The Court after examining the 2015 ESIC Regulations, the 2019 NMC Regulations, and the 2022 NMC Regulations, observed that, “The period spent by the teaching faculty towards acquisition of degree in Super Specialty subject on concurrent duties/deputation shall not be counted as teaching experience for fulfilling eligibility criteria for promotion in the concerned Super Specialty department.”
The Court further referred to Apex Court precedents, including V.B. Prasad v. Manager, P.M.D. Upper Primary School and Vivek Mudgil v. State of U.P., emphasizing that study leave, even if sanctioned and considered ‘on duty,’ does not equate to teaching experience. The Court held that actual teaching experience is an essential qualification for promotion, and the applicant had not completed the required four years of teaching experience after excluding the study leave period.
The Court found no infirmity in the Director General’s order and set aside the CAT’s order directing reconsideration. The writ petition was allowed, and the Tribunal’s decision was held unsustainable. The Court concluded that the applicant did not meet the requisite teaching experience criteria for promotion as Associate Professor, and there was no scope for interference with the reasoned and speaking order dated 14.07.2023.
Case Title: The Dean in Charge, ESI-PGIMSR, ESIC Medical College and ESIC Hospital & DCE (EZ) vs. Dr. Bijita Dutta & Ors.
Case No.: W.P.C.T. 103 of 2025
Coram: Justice Madhuresh Prasad, Justice Supratim Bhattacharya
Advocate for Petitioner: Adv. Shiv Chandra Prasad
Advocate for Respondent: Adv. Manujendra Narayan Roy, Biswarup Nandy, Rajesh Kr. Shah
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