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Shimla, June 2025 — In a significant judgment, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has clarified that teaching experience gained before a medical college’s official recognition under Section 10A of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, cannot be considered valid for determining eligibility for faculty appointments, specifically for the post of Assistant Professor.
The ruling came in response to a petition filed by a doctor who sought appointment as Assistant Professor in General Surgery at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital (SLBS GMC), Mandi. The petitioner argued that his teaching experience as a Senior Resident from December 8, 2016, should be counted, making him eligible for the post as per the recruitment rules, with the cut-off date for eligibility being January 16, 2020.
However, the court noted that SLBS GMC was formally recognized only on May 31, 2017, and the recruitment rules required three years of teaching experience after post-graduation from a recognized medical college. The bench, comprising Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma, observed that teaching experience before the college’s recognition could not be considered valid for faculty appointment eligibility.
“The teaching experience thus would only as such be available to the petitioner post setting up of the College and could not have been there earlier though he might have been posted as such by the State at the initial stage for fulfilling the norms of the MCI by the State Government,” the court stated.
The court further emphasized that eligibility criteria must be strictly adhered to as per the advertisement and statutory rules, and that the cut-off date for eligibility is sacrosanct. The bench dismissed the petition, upholding the withdrawal of the No Objection Certificate (NOC) granted to the petitioner, as he did not possess the requisite three years of teaching experience from a recognized medical college as of the cut-off date.
This judgment reinforces the importance of compliance with statutory recruitment rules for faculty appointments in medical colleges and sets a clear precedent for future cases involving experience accrued before institutional recognition.
Disclaimer:
This news article is based on the judgment of the Himachal Pradesh High Court as reported by Medical Dialogues. The information provided is for general awareness and is not intended as legal advice. Readers are advised to consult official sources or legal experts for specific guidance on faculty appointment eligibility in medical colleges1.
