Doctors move HC against Delhi govt's senior resident recruitment process

New Delhi: The recently conducted centralized recruitment process for Senior Residents under the Government of NCT of Delhi has been challenged by the doctors before the Delhi High Court.

Alleging that the recruitment process suffers from grave arbitrariness, lack of transparency, and constitutional infirmities, violating the principles of equality, fairness, and equal opportunity guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, the doctors under United Doctors Front (UDF) have filed the plea via senior national legal advisor AOR Dr. Charu Mathur. The plea has been registered under Diary No. 31458/ 2026.

The recruitment process was recently conducted for Senior Resident positions in all Delhi Government hospitals, including premier institutions such as Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), Lok Nayak Hospital (LNJP), GB Pant Hospital and Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital.

In the plea, the doctors' body has highlighted that thousands of Senior Residents were assessed through an interview-only process, without any written examination, disclosed merit criteria, or transparency in evaluation. Interview marks and the basis of selection were never made public, raising serious concerns regarding arbitrariness and violation of constitutional principles governing public employment.

UDF has also highlighted before the Court category-wise discrepancies, including improper allotment of reserved category seats, arbitrary allocation of institutions against candidates’ declared preferences despite availability of vacancies, and non-filling of sanctioned posts without any stated justification.

Commenting on the matter, the President of UDF, Dr. Lakshya Mittal, mentioned in a recent press statement that the post-selection corrigenda issued by the authorities further reflect lack of procedural consistency and non-application of mind.

"Senior Residents form the backbone of the public healthcare system, sustaining emergency services, ICUs, and academic training in government hospitals. Any injustice or uncertainty in their recruitment directly impacts patient care and the integrity of medical education. What is particularly concerning is that such opaque and constitutionally questionable practices are occurring in the national capital itself, setting an adverse precedent for public healthcare recruitment across the country," the statement mentioned.

"Through this writ petition, United Doctors Front seeks judicial scrutiny, transparency, adherence to Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, and a fair, merit-based recruitment process in the larger interest of doctors, patients, and public institutions," it further added.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that last year in November, aiming to address doctor shortages in key specialities and improve patient care services, the Delhi Government had announced a major recruitment drive to fill up 1,593 senior resident posts across its hospitals and medical institutions.

The Department of Health and Family Welfare invited applications for regular appointments in various specialities and super-specialities, including anaesthesia, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, paediatrics, medicine, surgery, radiology, and orthopaedics. The last date to apply was November 10, 2025.

Also Read: Delhi Govt to recruit 1,593 senior resident doctors