Kolkata: Observing that a court cannot substitute or sit in appeal over experts’ opinions unless there is prima facie mala fide, arbitrariness or inconsistency, Calcutta High Court ruled that clubbing of fingers (hand) is a deformity that can lead to disqualification in the medical examination relating to Central Armed Police Force’s (CAPF) GD examination.
The bench of Justice Aniruddha Roy was moved by the petitioner who participated in CAPF’s (GD) examination, 2024 and advanced to the physical efficiency test stage.
However, during medical examination, he was disqualified due to “clubbing of fingers in both hands”, among other reasons, as per the medical report. A review medical test also deemed him unfit for the same reason. Subsequently, the petitioner obtained a certificate from a government medical centre in West Bengal stating that despite the clubbing, his hands functioned normally.
Senior counsel for the petitioner argued that medical guidelines for the selection process do not explicitly list “clubbing of fingers” as a disqualifying criterion, unlike “clubbing of feet”, which is specified. He argued that the medical reports failed to demonstrate how clubbing of fingers impaired the petitioner’s hand functionality or ability to perform combatised duties, rendering the disqualification arbitrary, illegal and contrary to guidelines.
The respondents’ cited a section of the guideline which stated that “scars and deformities of the fingers or hand that impair normal functioning/free movement of the fingers/hand to such a degree as to interfere with satisfactory performance of combatised duties” are disqualifying. They argued that the court should not interfere with the expert medical boards’ findings, as disqualification was in accordance with guidelines, supported by medical reports.
The court found that clubbing of fingers falls under the provision of the specified guideline. Taking into account the medical reports, the court noted: “…scars and deformities of the fingers or hand that impair normal functioning/free movement of the fingers/hand to such a degree as to interfere with the satisfactory performance of the combatised duties are to be treated as disqualification”.