Unfit due to small kidney: Karnataka High Court dismisses Army aspirant’s plea - The Indian Express

The Karnataka High Court last week dismissed a petition filed by a 25-year-old Indian Army aspirant seeking the constitution of a Review Medical Board (RMB) to re-examine him after he was declared medically unfit, despite securing the 51st rank in the merit list.

In an order dated September 17, Justice C M Poonacha said, “Keeping in mind the fact that a request for review of the decision of the AMB by RMB is not a matter of right; and having regard to the stringent conditions of the nature of work that is required to be discharged by the personnel of the Indian Army, in the considered opinion of this court, the extraordinary discretionary jurisdiction of this court is not to be invoked to grant relief as sought for by the petitioner.”

Monish N Aradhya applied to join the Indian Army earlier this year. Following the written examination, he underwent a medical examination before the Special Medical Board (SNB), which declared him unfit due to a small left kidney and other medical grounds.

Aradhya subsequently submitted a representation to appeal before the Appellate Medical Board (AMB). In July, after re-examination, the AMB also found him medically unfit for the same reason: his small left kidney. On August 10, Aradhya submitted a representation seeking a review of the AMB’s decision, which was rejected. He then approached the High Court.

Advocate K S Ponnappa, appearing for the petitioner, relied on various medical reports from private hospitals and diagnostic centres, including an ultrasound scan from Manipal Hospital indicating that the petitioner’s left kidney measured 7.7–8 cm.

Under the Manual of Medical Standards for entry into the armed forces, any persistent structural or functional abnormality of the kidney detected during clinical examination qualifies an applicant as unfit. Specifically, if a kidney appears shrunken on an ultrasound. measuring less than 8 cm on either side, it is grounds for rejection.

Additional Solicitor General Aravind Kamath, representing the respondents, submitted that the AMB examined the petitioner using a ‘triple phase CECT scan’, an advanced diagnostic technology. “The said scan gives more accurate results than an ultrasound scan, and the report of the said scan indicates that the left kidney of the petitioner is 7 cm,” Kamath stated.

Referencing the Manual of Medical Standards, the bench noted that constituting an RMB is not a matter of right and acknowledged that the CECT scan used by the AMB provides greater accuracy than an ultrasound scan.

Dismissing the petition, the court observed, “All the scan reports submitted by the petitioner, the size of the left kidney of the petitioner is indicated as 8 cm or less. There is no scan report which indicates that the size of the left kidney of the petitioner is more than 8 cm. The stipulations clearly indicate that if the kidney is less than 8 cm, the candidature is to be rejected.”

Following the verdict, advocate Ponnappa stated that the petitioner will challenge the single-judge order in an appeal.