Punjab & Haryana High Court Orders NOC for Doctor, Imposes Costs on State Over MLA Protocol Case

The bench called reliance on a pending notice from a COVID-duty encounter an unjust, arbitrary block on the doctor’s postgraduate plans.

Overview

Justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Rohit Kapoor directed Haryana to issue the no-objection certificate forthwith to petitioner Dr Manoj.
The court levied ₹50,000 in costs on the State, to be deposited with the Poor Patient Welfare Fund at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
The disciplinary action arose after an MLA’s visit to a hospital emergency ward during the pandemic when the doctor did not stand up.
A show-cause notice under Rule 8 proposed a minor penalty, and the doctor’s June 2024 reply said he did not recognise the MLA and intended no discourtesy.
The judges called the State’s response “insensitive” and “highly disturbing” and ruled that using a pending notice to deny the NOC cannot be sustained.