Relief for former military nurses from Punjab and Haryana Court Ruling

According to a recent decision by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, former military nurses are deemed “ex-servicemen." The high court decision was made during the hearing of a case filed by Gurpreet Kaur, a former nursing officer, who had contested the Punjab Public Service Commission's denial of her application for the Punjab Civil Services. The Punjab Recruitment of Ex-Servicemen Rules, 1982, state that such officers cannot be refused "ex-serviceman" (ESM) status.

This was noted by a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which included Justice Aman Chaudhary and Acting Chief Justice Ritu Bahri. The ruling will facilitate the rehire of Military Nursing Service (MNS) Short Service Commissioned Officers. Although Gurpreet Kaur passed the 2021 Punjab Civil Services examination, her application was rejected down since she wasn't a pensioner and hence wasn't considered a "ESM." After that, she went to the high court and argued that the Punjab Rules covered Short Service Officers released from their engagement with gratuity upon completion of terms, as defined by the ESM, and that the MNS was a "Armed Force of the Union" under the statute.

A letter from the Kendriya Sainik Board in 2019 rejecting MNS officers' application for ESM status cast doubt on their ESM status. Gurpreet Kaur's writ petition was initially considered by a single bench of the high court, which dismissed it on the grounds that the Punjab Rules could not broaden the concept of ESM as defined by the Central Rules. The former officer subsequently filed a Letter Patent Appeal (LPA) before a division bench, claiming that only Group C and D postings under the Union government were covered by the Central Rules, and that employment under the state government was governed by the Punjab Rules for Group A, B, C, and D posts. In her appeal, she claimed that all recruitments in Punjab for Group A and B positions, both past and future, would be illegal if the ruling were to be upheld.