BDS graduate can't be considered General Duty Medical Officer: Karnataka HC

Bengaluru: The high court has said that a BDS graduate cannot be considered a General Duty Medical Officer and thus, is not entitled to hold the post of a Taluk Health Officer as per the Karnataka Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Medical Officers and Other Staff) Act, 2011.

The petitioner, a dentist, had challenged the cancellation of her transfer as Taluk Health Officer.

The petitioner, Dr Vidyavathi U Patil is a Class I Officer (Group A) working as Senior Dental Health Officer. She was transferred on January 2, 2023, as Taluk Health Officer, Kundgol. However, on September 8, 2023, this transfer order was cancelled. The petitioner approached the high court after the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal rejected her petition on the ground that she is not entitled to hold the post of Taluk Health Officer.

The petitioner relied upon Section 2(g) of the Karnataka Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Medical Officers and Other Staff) Act, 2011 and claimed that a Senior Dental Health Officer is also a Medical Officer.

A division bench comprising Justice MI Arun and Justice Umesh M Adiga noted that General Duty Medical Officer is a post and similarly Senior Dental Health Officer is also a post under the State service.

“A Senior Dental Health Officer is a BDS graduate, whereas, a General Duty Medical Officer is an MBBS graduate. Apart from these posts, there are several posts as mentioned in Schedule I to the Act, who all are considered as Medical Officers for the purposes of the Act, but they are not General Duty Medical Officers. General Duty Medical Officer is a separate category of post, who is also considered a Medical Officer,” the bench said.

The court further said, “…the petitioner is not an MBBS graduate, she cannot be considered a General Duty Medical Officer. Thus, she is not entitled to hold the post of a Taluk Health Officer. Admittedly, her posting as a Taluk Health Officer, Kundgol, was erroneous. Realising the same, the state government has recalled the said order. For the said reason, we do not see any error in the order passed by the KAT.”