In Brief
Dr. Meeta Sahai, who served in an Army Hospital, applied for a General Medical Officer post in Bihar but was denied weightage for her work experience because the selection advertisement restricted such credit to Government of Bihar hospitals only. The Supreme Court allowed her appeal, holding that the Rules' term 'Government hospital' extends to all non-private hospitals in Bihar, including those run by the Central Government, municipalities, and panchayati raj institutions. The Court adopted purposive interpretation guided by constitutional values of equality and equal opportunity. Since work experience in different public-sector hospitals serves the same public purpose in similar challenging conditions, restricting recognition to only Bihar Government hospitals was arbitrary and violated Article 16. The respondents were directed to prepare a fresh merit list giving weightage to the appellant and similarly placed candidates.
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