Shanmuga Anand K v. The Secretary To Government

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

DATED: 08-01-2026

CORAM

THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR AND WMP NOs. 33506 & 33505 OF 2016 Shanmuga Anand K ..Petitioner(s) Vs

1. The Secretary to Government Government of India, Ministry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi 110 011

2. The Chief of the Air Staff Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi 110 011

3. DG Armed Forces Medical Services, Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi 110 011

4. President Central Airman Selection Board Air Force (CASB AF), Brar Square, delhi, Cantt 110 010

5. Group Captain/Medical Advisor, Central Airman Selection Board Air Force (CASB AF), Brar Square, Delhi, Cantt 110 010

6. Group Captain/President AMB Station Medical Centre AVADI, Air Force Station Avadi, DC 1, Avadi,Tamil Nadu 600 055

7. Commanding Officer Airmen Selection Centre, Air Force Station, Tambaram, Tambaram East, Chennai 46

8. Military Hospital, Defence Colony, Guindy, Chennai 32 ..Respondent(s) __________Page 1 of 6

Prayer: Writ Petition is filed under Section 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to call for the records pertaining to the impugned order passed by the 5th respondent vide letter dt. CASB/1018/1/Med dt. 22nd September 2016 and quash the same and consequently direct 5th respondent to permit the petitioner to undergo medical re examination or send the petitioner for medical re examination to Air Force Ortho Surgeons at Bangalore or Pune or any other Board Hospitals which is having facilities to conduct proper medical examination and to give appointment to the petitioner for the post of X (Education Instructor) Trade and participated in the selection procession held at 8, Airmen Selection Centre, Air Force Station Tambaram, Tambaram East, Chennai on 20th September 2015 to 24th September 2015.

For Petitioner(s):

M/s.S.Sathyaraj For Respondent(s):

Mr. A.R.Sakthivel, SPC , for R1 to R8

ORDER

The petitioner, having successfully cleared both the physical examination and the written test for the post of Education Instructor in the Indian Air Force, has approached this Court challenging the communication dated 22.09.2016 issued by the fifth respondent.

2.By the said communication, the request of the petitioner for a further medical examination was rejected. After clearing the physical examination and written test, the petitioner was subjected to a medical examination conducted by a departmental Medical Board, which declared the petitioner unfit for appointment __________Page 2 of 6

on account of Cubitus Valgus, a condition in which the arms are abnormally angled away from the body.

3.The petitioner contends that the Chief Civil Surgeon (Consulting Orthopaedic Surgeon) issued a medical certificate certifying that the petitioner does not suffer from any medical dysfunction. Pursuant thereto, the petitioner was subjected to a second medical re-examination conducted at the Military Hospital, Chennai, which, however, also opined that the petitioner was unfit for appointment on account of Cubitus Valgus.

4.This Court heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned counsel for the respondents and perused the materials available on record. 5.The Manual of Medical Examinations and Medical Boards, published under the authority of the Chief of the Air Staff, prescribes the conditions affecting the assessment of upper limbs. Clause 3.9.10 of the Manual, insofar as it relates to the elbow, reads as follows:

"Elbow: Slight limitation of movement does not bar acceptance provided functional capacity is adequate. Ankylosis will entail rejection. Cubitus Valgus is said to be present when the carrying angle (the angle between the arm and forearm in anatomical posture) is exaggerated. In the absence of functional disability __________Page 3 of 6

and obvious cause like fracture mal-union, fibrosis, or the like, a carrying angle of up to 15 degrees in male candidates and 18 degrees in female candidates would be acceptable." 6.The contention of the petitioner is that the Medical Board failed to specify the degree of deformity, namely, the precise measurement of the Cubitus Valgus, which alone could legally disentitle the petitioner from appointment to the said post. However, both the initial Medical Examination Board and the subsequent re-examination by the Military Hospital, Chennai, independently concluded that the petitioner was unfit for appointment on account of Cubitus Valgus, strictly in accordance with the medical standards prescribed for recruitment to the Indian Air Force.

7.The Hon'ble Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in Letters Patent Appeal No.871 of 2022 (O&M) dated 24.04.2023, has held as follows:

"Once the medical experts have examined and re-examined the appellant's case thoroughly, this Court is not required to sit in appeal over the same and adjudicate upon the correctness of the opinion(s) expressed by the medical experts, especially when this Court does not possess the expertise to decide whether the opinion(s) of the medical experts are right or wrong. The process of medical examination cannot be converted into an endless one, and therefore, finality to the opinion of the Appellate Medical Board has rightly been prescribed."

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8.In the present case, the petitioner has not pleaded that the medical examinations conducted were vitiated by mala fides, procedural irregularities, or bias. No material has been placed on record to attribute any infirmity to the examining authorities. In such circumstances, the medical opinion rendered by the competent Medical Boards is entitled to due deference and must be accepted. 9.In view of the above discussion, this Court finds no merit in the writ petition, and the same is accordingly dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. Consequently, the connected miscellaneous petitions stand closed. 08-01-2026 Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order SHA __________Page 5 of 6

HEMANT CHANDANGOUDAR J.

SHA To

1. The Secretary to Government Government of India, Ministry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi 110 011

2. The Chief of the Air Staff Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi 110 011

3. DG Armed Forces Medical Services, Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence, South Block, New Delhi 110 011

4. President Central Airman Selection Board Air Force (CASB AF), Brar Square, Delhi, Cantt 110 010

5. Group Captain/Medical Advisor, Central Airman Selection Board Air Force (CASB AF), Brar Square, Delhi, Cantt 110 010

6. Group Captain/President AMBStation Medical Centre AVADI, Air Force Station Avadi, DC 1, Avadi, Tamil Nadu 600 055

7. Commanding Officer Airmen Selection Centre, Air Force Station, Tambaram, Tambaram East, Chennai 46

8. Military Hospital Defence Colony, Guindy, Chennai 32 AND WMP NOs. 33506 & 33505 OF 2016 08-01-2026 __________Page 6 of 6