New Delhi, June 26
In another case of discrimination on medical grounds, the Department of Personnel and Training recently declared a UPSC rank holder “unfit to join all the services on account of diabetes”.

Hyderabad-based M. Srinivasu, who secured 814th rank in the UPSC 2008 Civil Services Exams, was rejected for civil services on the advice of the Safdarjung Medical Board, which held the examination of the said candidate in Delhi on February 7.

Subsequently, the DoPT issued a rejection letter to Srinivasu on June 11, allowing him to appeal in the case if he wanted. The appeal is now pending with the Appellate Medical Board of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, whose verdict in the case is still awaited.

Srinivasu, who today questioned the grounds on which he was rejected, told The Tribune, “The recruitment rules as stated in the Gazette of India nowhere mention diabetes as a ground for ineligibility to join the services. Then on what basis have my services been rejected?”

The rules, which The Tribune today studied, do mention that members of the medical board must go in for further tests if they find sugar levels in the urine of a candidate being examined. Thereafter, the rule is silent on what to do if the candidate is found diabetic, thereby implying that diabetes is no ground for rejection.

The RML Medical Board, however, cites another Gazette rule which the medical examination of any candidate opting for civil services must consider. This Rule says, “A medical examination and the question of fitness of a candidate involves ensuring that early pension payments by the government are avoided.” It was on this ground that the RML Board had declared Panchkula-based Sukhsohit Singh unfit for services on account of thalassaemia.

The latest case of rejection by the DoPT on grounds of diabetes is sure to spur fears among other diabetics as to their future in the civil services. India has about 50.8 million diabetics, the largest diabetic population in the world.

Meanwhile, sources in the DoPT said recruitment rules mentioned in the Gazette of India were open to interpretation in certain cases. They cited Rule 21 of the Extraordinary Gazette of India dated December 29, 2007, which clearly states:

“A candidate must be in good mental and bodily health and free from any physical defect likely to interfere with the discharge of his duties as an officer of the service…”

However, rules for medical examination boards are framed separately and doctors often stick by those in order to fulfill their mandated duty to avoid bringing financial burden upon the government. “Interpretation of rules must be done as a whole,” DoPT sources said.

Meanwhile, Srinivasu has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also a diabetic, asking him whether the lifestyle disease ever interfered with his functioning as head of the government.