Can't shed flab and challenge overweight disqualification: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: A man cannot lose weight after being disqualified to join the armed forces on the ground of being overweight and then challenge the disqualification, the Supreme Court said.
A bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah dismissed an appeal by Devesh Kumar, whose candidature was rejected by the Air Force for the post of airman on being found to be weighing 89 kgs at the age of 20 years. At his height of 191 cm, the airman standards provided a weight range of 67 to 71 Kg, with +- variation of six kgs.
The counsel said that Devesh's challenge to the rejection was considered by the Air Force authorities, who again rejected him without again weighing him to find out whether he fell within the prescribed limits.
The bench said, "This cannot be allowed. If one loses weight after being disqualified for being overweight, he cannot claim a second chance for re-evaluation of his weight." Devesh was a candidate for recruitment as an Airman last year. He was found medically unfit for being overweight and abnormality in his ECG, which were mentioned in the report of primary medical examination conducted on February 5 this year.
The weight of the petitioner was found to be 89 kgs as against the prescribed weight for his height of 191 cms and for his age of 20 years, of 67 to 71 kgs. However, the Manual of Medical Examination and Medical Boards of the Indian Air Force of the year 2010 prescribe a plus minus variation of 6 kgs; accordingly it was concluded that the petitioner was overweight.
Devesh had filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court on the ground that in the Appeal Medical Examination, though the ECG of the petitioner was done but the petitioner was not weighed again and yet declared unfit again. The HC had asked the Air Force to produce the records of the medical examination of Devesh.
The records showed that the petitioner, who in the medical examination on February 5 was found to be weighing 89 kgs, during the Appeal Medical Examination was again weighed on March 1 and found to be having a weight of 85 kgs. The Appeal Medical Board also found abnormality in his ECG. But, the petitioner claimed that he was never weighed again.
The HC bench headed by Justice R S Endlaw said, "It cannot also be lost sight of, that the petitioner, between February 5 and March 1 reduced his weight from 89 kgs to 85 kgs. Now we are another nearly three months away and merely because the petitioner may have in the last three months reduced his weight still further and may have brought it within permissible limits, would not entitle the petitioner to recruitment."
"The petitioner's counsel contends that had the petitioner been overweight and having abnormality in his ECG, he could not have cleared the Physical Standard Test (PST) and Physical Efficiency Test (PET). However the aforesaid argument is made without any knowledge of medicine and without any literature. If what the petitioner's counsel is contending were to be correct, there would have been no need for a medical examination after PST/PET. PST/PET are done for short durations of time and are not always conclusive as to the medical condition and if there is a medical unfitness which can be detected in medical examination only, the same would not permit prolonged performance of hard duties, as are expected from a member of the force," the HC had said and dismissed the petition.