The Madras High Court, in a significant ruling, has upheld the Government Order (GO) issued by the Tamil Nadu Government on August 17, 2023, granting incentive marks to health professionals who performed COVID-19 duty in regular government appointments. This decision includes Post-Graduate medical students who served in COVID wards of government hospitals, recognizing their efforts and risks taken during the pandemic.
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The bench, comprising Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy, heard a batch of petitions challenging the GO and another batch seeking similar benefits for PG medical students. The court observed,
“The present grant of incentive marks is also a fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore, we hold that the normal rule of changing the game during the course of the game also requires a different consideration in this context and the said rule cannot come in the way of grant of incentive marks to these Medical Officers who put their life at risk. Gratitude and recognition for service to mankind is very much part of our constitutional jurisprudence and if the incentive is not granted in the present selection, then it can never be.”
The objections raised against the GO included the timing of its issuance, which came after the written examination for the selection of assistant surgeons was completed, and the exclusion of private doctors. The court, however, dismissed these objections, stating that the services rendered in the private sector, though laudable, did not have a verifiable mechanism to ensure claims of treating COVID patients, unlike government hospitals where 84% of COVID patients were treated.
Regarding Post-Graduate students, the court clarified that their service, although part of their training, should not be considered differently from that of medical professionals who volunteered for COVID-19 duty. The court stated,
“However, we do not find any error in the Government Order in G.O. (Ms).No.278, dated 17.08.2023 and it is only the interpretation given by the officials in the consequential order impugned in the Writ Petition, dated 23.08.2023 so as to construe the Government Order as excluding the Post Graduate on the ground that it is part of the training period is not in order. Besides, this incentive should doubly count in public interest also as these candidates are already Post-Graduates.”
The court further clarified that all Post-Graduate students who were on COVID-19 duty in government hospitals can approach the appropriate authority for the issuance of a COVID Duty Certificate within 10 days.
The case was represented by various advocates, including Mr. Suhrith Parthasarathy for the doctors seeking incentives for PG students, and Mr. Vineeth Subramaniam and Mr. V Pavel for the doctors opposing the GO. Advocate R Thamaraiselvan represented doctors seeking incentive marks for those from private hospitals, while Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan appeared for the Central government, and Additional Advocates General J Ravindran and Ramanlaal, along with Government Advocates TK Saravanan and L Murugavelu, appeared for the State government.
