A tribal IPS applicant was deprived of physical height relaxation by the central medical standing board which cost him his position in the Indian Police Service. Dr Ojing Dameng filed a petition wherein he challenged the medical board which was further dismissed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
Dr Dameng, a native of Mliang village in Upper Siang district, was ranked 644 in the Union Public Service Commission Civil Service Examination, 2017, and had been placed at Serial No 2 in the provisional list of IPS officers in the scheduled tribe (ST) category. He had been selected for the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and has been undergoing training as a probationer in the National Academy of Direct Taxes, Nagpur.
However, on 7 April, 2018, a medical examination was conducted by the central medical standing board at the GTB Hospital in New Delhi, and the board declared Dr Dameng unfit for the post of an IPS officer on the grounds that his height is 162.5 cms, which is 2.5 cms less than the required minimum height of 165 cms for male candidates for the IPS.
At the moment, Dr. Dameng referred to Regulation 7 (c) of the All India Services Act, 1951, wherein it is mentioned that candidates belonging to the ST category and to races such as Gorkha, Assamese, Kumaoni, Naga, Garhwali, etc, are entitled to a relaxation of 5 cms in the minimum height required for the IPS, which was again rejected by the medical board. Dr Dameng contested the medical board’s decision by filing a petition at the CAT in August 2018. However, the tribunal dismissed his petition on 27 May, 2021, stating that, unless the candidate fulfills the requirement of (a) being a scheduled tribe and (b) belonging to the categories such as Gorkhas, Garhwalis, Assamese, Kumaonis, Nagas, etc, he could not be given the benefit of relaxation of height.
Dr Dameng is an ST candidate from Arunachal, where the indigenous population is tribal. A large population of the state includes people with lower physical stature as compared to people from other states. Dr Dameng was denied the benefit because Arunachalees are not mentioned in the regulation extending the benefit of relaxation in height.
“In the beginning, I thought that it was an open-and-shut case and I would get a favorable judgment from the CAT. But the judgment, which was conveyed to me orally by my advocate on 28 April 2021, was shocking and unexpected. This is one of those instances where we as Arunachalees are being deprived of what rightfully should have been ours. The very purpose of relaxation for STs is defeated if it is not given to us. Moreover, I fail to understand why there should be a discrepancy in minimum height of the inducted and direct recruit IPS officers,” Dr. Dameng said and appealed to the state government, elected representatives, and community-based organizations to take up the matter at the highest level so that the future generations do not suffer or remain deprived.
It should be noted that Dr. Dameng has also written a letter to CM Pema Khandu who has acknowledged it and supported him in the case.
