Allahabad HC says 'It is for govt to decide whether degree in physiotherapy equivalent to MBBS'

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad High Court has observed that under its extraordinary jurisdiction, it cannot determine whether a degree in physiotherapy is equivalent to the MBBS degree or not. The court said it has to be determined by a state government or the Indian Medical Association that whether a degree in physiotherapy is equivalent to MBBS or not.

Dismissing a writ petition filed by one Sandhya Yadav, Justice Ajit Kumar said, "It is either for the state government to recognise such a degree of physiotherapy as equivalent to the bachelor's degree in medicine or for the Medical Council of India to recognise a course of physiotherapy as of medicine, and unless and until the state government recognises so or the appointing authority admits such a degree to be the degree required under the service rules as an academic qualification, this court will not direct the authority to consider the degree in question as a qualification at par with the graduate bachelor's degree in medicine as required under the relevant service rules."

"Holding a particular degree equivalent to the degree required under the service rules certainly falls outside the scope of the jurisdiction of this court under Article 226 (writ jurisdiction) of the Constitution," the judge pointed out.

According to the facts of the case, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) issued an advertisement on July 14, 2014, inviting applications for the post of food safety officer and prescribing certain qualifications for the candidates. The petitioner passed the written examination held by the commission and was issued a call letter for an interview. However, when she approached the commission, she was not allowed to take part in the interview.

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The final results were declared on January 29, 2015 and the petitioner's candidature was rejected. She subsequently filed the plea in the high court.

The petitioner's grievance was that she possessed the qualification as prescribed in the advertisement and accordingly, was allowed to appear in the written examination. However, when she went for the interview, she was not allowed to participate in the process as she did not possess a bachelor's degree in medicine.

The UPPSC's counsel told the court that the Centre has not notified any other qualification equivalent to that prescribed under the rules and thus, on the basis of information received from the appointing authority -- the director (enforcement) for the food safety and standards authority -- dated June 30, 2014, the commission concluded that a bachelor's degree in physiotherapy would not count as a degree in medicine or medical science, a requisite qualification for the post of food safety officer.