The Supreme Court allowed the State of Uttar Pradesh to deny voluntarily retirements to doctors while considering the fact there is a scarcity of doctors in the Provincial Health Services in the State of Uttar Pradesh and a mass voluntarily retirements by doctors is degrading the healthcare facilities to people of state.
Justice Arun Mishra said that, When services are required, denial of voluntary retirement is permissible.
Under Article 47 it is the duty of the State to improve the public health, which is a primary duty under the Directive Principles of the State Policy and the statutory expression which may be enforced.
The Court considered Article 51A containing Fundamental Duties, that it is a duty of every citizen under Article 51A(g) to have compassion for living creatures and to have humanism is also contemplated under Article 51A(h) and to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of
endeavours and achievement. It cannot be done by depriving poorest of the poor essential medical services and to leave them at the mercy of doctors.
There cannot be departure of doctors from the Government Medical Services at large, definitely this cannot be permitted to happen within four corners of law as it has to be living organism and has to live up to the essence and spirit of constitution and cannot ignore and overlook needs of poorest strata of the society.
Concluding the judgment, the court held that ‘The Government may fill the vacancies if any. But that would not bring doctors of experience at senior level and exodus of doctors cannot be permitted to weaken the services when the public interest requires to serve for the sake of efficient medical profession and fulfil Directive Principles of State Policy once they found statutory expression in the rules cannot be made mockery. When services are required, denial of voluntary retirement is permissible under the Rules applicable in the State of Uttar Pradesh.’
Read full judgment here:
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