Delhi HC upholds cancellation of doctor's EWS quota AIIMS post

Delhi HC dismisses a doctor's plea against the cancellation of his AIIMS EWS quota job. The court ruled his pay as a Junior Resident was 'income', not a stipend, making him ineligible as it exceeded the ₹8 lakh EWS income ceiling.

The Delhi High Court dismissed a petition filed by a doctor challenging the cancellation of his appointment under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

"This Court finds no ground to interfere with the Impugned Order passed by the Tribunal," the Delhi High Court held. A bench of Justice Anil Kshetrapal and Justice Amit Mahajan affirmed the Central Administrative Tribunal's decision, which had declared the petitioner's EWS certificate invalid and directed termination of his appointment as Senior Resident (Ophthalmology), observing that the findings were based on proper appreciation of the policy and material on record.

The 'Income' vs 'Stipend' Controversy

The court noted that the controversy centred on whether the remuneration received by the petitioner during his tenure as a Junior Resident should be treated as income while determining eligibility under the EWS category. It observed that the EWS policy requires consideration of "gross annual income from all sources", and the amount received by the petitioner during the relevant financial year exceeded the prescribed ceiling of ₹8 lakh.

Rejecting the argument that the payment was merely a stipend linked to academic training, the bench held that the nature of a payment must be judged by its substance rather than its label. The court recorded that the petitioner received fixed monthly remuneration, tax was deducted at source, pay slips were issued, and the amount was reflected as salary in Form-16, indicating that it bore the characteristics of income arising from engagement and services rendered.

Tribunal's Jurisdiction and Ruling Upheld

The High Court further said the Tribunal was within its jurisdiction to examine eligibility under the EWS category in a service dispute and that the existence of an interim stay on cancellation of the certificate by a revenue authority did not prevent it from assessing the claim independently.

Upholding the Tribunal's directions, the court noted that termination of the petitioner's appointment and offering the post to the next eligible EWS candidate, or converting it to the unreserved category if no such candidate was available, were consequential steps flowing from its findings. (ANI)

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