6 weeks post pregnancy very less for requisite fitness in CAPFs: Delhi HC

Court directed authorities concerned to examine this provision in consultation with medical specialists to consider providing reasonable time within which woman is required to regain medical fitness

The Delhi High Court has opined that the six weeks' time given to women candidates, who are pregnant at the time of a medical examination for appointment in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), to achieve the requisite fitness is "extremely short" and asked authorities to examine the provision for granting reasonable time.

The high court said it may not be possible for a woman candidate, who has undergone pregnancy, to regain her complete medical fitness and lose within six weeks the weight gained during the nine months of her pregnancy.

The court was informed that according to paragraph 5.3 of the Guidelines of Recruitment Medical Examination in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles, if a urine test for pregnancy is positive, the candidate will be declared unfit temporarily and will be re-examined six weeks after the pregnancy, subject to the production of a medical certificate of fitness from a registered medical practitioner.

"This period of six weeks envisaged under the guidelines to enable a female candidate to regain her medical fitness after going through a pregnancy, in our considered opinion, is extremely short as it may not always be possible for a female candidate, who has undergone a pregnancy, to regain her complete medical fitness and lose the weight within six weeks, which she may have gained during nine months of her pregnancy, as even under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, a much longer period of absence from duty has been envisaged," a bench of Justices Rekha Palli and Shalinder Kaur said.

The court directed the authorities concerned to examine this provision of the guidelines in consultation with medical specialists to consider providing a reasonable time within which a woman candidate is required to regain her medical fitness after her pregnancy.

"The matter, be therefore, placed before the additional director general (medical), CAPF for this purpose," it said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by a young mother, who aspired to join the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) as a constable (washerman-female) under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota, but was declared medically unfit on the ground of being "overweight".

On a query regarding the time granted to women candidates, who are pregnant at the time of the medical examination, to achieve the requisite medical fitness, the counsel for the authorities submitted that in all cases of pregnancy, six weeks' time is granted to the candidates to attain the fitness.

It was the woman's case that after clearing the written test, she appeared for the medical examination when she was in the advanced stage of her pregnancy. Her medical examination was deferred and she was directed to appear in the test after her delivery.

The plea said when the woman appeared before the medical board barely four months after her delivery, she was declared "unfit" on the ground of being overweight and even a review of the medical board declared her "unfit" as her Body Mass Index (BMI) was found to be 25.3, which was more than the acceptable limit of 25 prescribed for appointment in the CAPFs.

Being dissatisfied with the findings, she approached a government hospital in Gwalior where her BMI was found to be 24.8, but no action was taken by the authorities after which she approached the high court for the relief.

The bench said though it has no reasons to doubt the authorities' averment that the woman's BMI was found to be more than 25 during the selection process, it has to be taken into consideration that the candidate delivered a baby barely four months before she was medically examined and that she deserved to be granted another opportunity to be examined by a fresh medical board.

The court allowed the petition and directed that the petitioner be examined within a week by a fresh medical board and if her BMI is found to be less than 25, she would be appointed as a constable (washerman-female) within four weeks.