Dimapur, February 26 (MExN): The Nagaland Medical Students’ Association (NMSA) has issued a clarification regarding the regularisation of contractual Medical Officers appointed during the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that it has no connection to a Special Leave Petition (SLP) reportedly filed in the Supreme Court on the matter.
Any suggestion or assertion to the contrary is “factually incorrect, misleading, and must not be attributed to NMSA,” it clarified in a statement. Neither the NMSA nor any of its bona fide members have filed any appeal, petition or SLP before the Supreme Court concerning the regularisation process as of date.
The SLP in question, pertains to a private legal action initiated by three individual doctors who were appointed during the Covid period but were excluded from the list of 97 contractual Medical Officers and were subsequently regularised, it added.
“The reliefs sought in the said petition do not reflect, represent, or align with the position, demands, or principles of NMSA… This is a private legal proceeding and does not represent the collective concerns of medical students or medical aspirants in Nagaland.”
No court mandate for regularisation
NMSA clarified that the Court did not issue any express direction mandating the regularisation of Covid-era contractual Medical Officers. The writ petition was dismissed primarily on the ground of locus standi, with observations that several petitioners were not eligible or qualified at the time the contractual appointments were made in 2020.
While the judgment may be interpreted as acknowledging the legality of the recruitment process adopted at the time, it did not contain any categorical or binding directive requiring regularisation, it emphasised.
“The Court appears to have left the matter to be considered by the Government in accordance with law.” Consequently, NMSA noted that the decision regarding regularisation rested within the executive domain, to be exercised by the Government or the Cabinet based on prevailing rules, policies, and administrative considerations.
In this context, the NMSA suggested that any regularisation would be an executive decision taken after judicial acknowledgment of the earlier process, rather than as an action compelled by a judicial order directing regularisation of Class-I Gazetted Medical Officer posts outside the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) framework.
Clarification regarding AYUSH Medical Officers
NMSA also highlighted that in a separate writ appeal filed by AYUSH Medical Officers challenging the Special Recruitment Drive (SRD) and regularisation process initiated in 2020, the Court categorically ruled in favour of the petitioners and held the SRD to be impermissible.
The Court explicitly directed the concerned Department to requisition all such posts to the NPSC and to conduct examinations within six months a direction that remains uncomplied with to date.
Despite this, NMSA said, reliance was placed on a subsequent dismissal order relating to 97 MBBS Medical Officer posts which has no nexus or applicability to AYUSH Medical Officer posts.
“By misapplying this unrelated order, the Department proceeded to regularise 20 AYUSH Medical Officers on 16 January 2026, an action that is arbitrary, legally unsustainable, and in direct violation of earlier binding judicial directions.”
Covid doctor posts were temporary
NMSA asserted that official records confirm Covid era Medical Officers appointments were temporary in nature, made for a fixed duration of twelve months or intended to subsist only until regular recruitment was conducted through the NPSC.
Any attempt to convert such temporary engagements into permanent appointments would directly contradict the explicit terms and intent under which these appointments were made, it emphasised.
While acknowledging and respecting the service and sacrifices rendered by healthcare workers during pandemic, NMSA maintained that recognition and reward must be granted strictly in accordance with established service rules and recruitment norms, without bypassing constitutionally and statutorily mandated bodies such as NPSC or the Nagaland Staff Selection Board.
It placed on record that over the past decade, only approximately 61 Medical Officers have been recruited through examinations conducted by NPSC.
The regularisation of 97 contractual Medical Officers through departmental screening constitutes a serious deviation from Schedule II(a) of the Nagaland Health Service Rules, 2006, which mandates 100% recruitment of Class-I Gazetted Medical Officers through the Nagaland Public Service Commission. “Such deviation sets a dangerous precedent that undermines recruitment integrity, institutional credibility, and the long-term stability of the State’s healthcare system,” it stated.
Urges fair Covid weightage, not selective regularisation
Expressing concern over the future of medical recruitment in the state, NMSA stressed the need to uphold transparent and competitive selection mechanisms, cautioning that any dilution could have long-term consequences for aspirants and healthcare workforce planning. It expressed concern regarding future recruitment prospects.
With 100 MBBS seats annually at NIMSR, 85 reserved for indigenous inhabitants, 15 for all India quota and approximately 60 seats from central pool Nagaland students pursuing medical education outside the State, Nagaland is expected to produce nearly 160 medical graduates each year.
NMSA called for granting appropriate weightage for COVID-19 service within an open and competitive examination framework. “Such benefits must not be confined to a ‘select or pre-determined group’ ensuring that the contributions of those who served on the frontlines during the pandemic are recognised equitably,” it emphasised.
While expressing appreciation to the Government and Naga Students’ Federation for constituting a High-Powered Committee (HPC), NMSA appealed to the Government, HPC and NSF to arrive at an amicable, inclusive and constitutionally sound resolution. It must safeguard the established Nagaland Health Service Rules; preserve the constitutional role of NPSC; protect the future of all medical aspirants; and Honour the sacrifices of Covid-era contractual appointees strictly within the bounds of law.
NMSA appreciated the state Government for its firm stand on the allocation of MBBS seats under the Central Pool and commended it for ensuring that medical seats are strictly reserved for indigenous Nagas by blood, in consonance with the State’s protective constitutional provisions.
The NMSA viewed this decision as a vital safeguard for the academic and professional future of deserving Naga medical aspirants and urged the administration to maintain stringent verification mechanisms to prevent unauthorised claims and ensure complete transparency in future allotments.
