The Kerala Coir Workers' Welfare Cess Act 2008

ACT 29 OF 2008

THE KERALA MEDICAL OFFICERS’ ADMISSION TO POSTGRADUATE

COURSES UNDER SERVICE QUOTA ACT, 2008 *

An Act to provide for quota of seats among Medical Officers of the State of Kerala

and  to  have  a  selection  procedure  for  admission  to  various  Post  graduate

Courses  in  the  Medical  Colleges  under  the  service  quota  considering  their

service under the Government and for matters connected therewith or incidental

thereto.

Preamble.— WHEREAS,  it  is  expedient  to  provide for  quota  of  seats  among

Medical  Officers  of  the  State  of  Kerala  and  to  have  a  selection  procedure  for

admission to various Postgraduate Courses in the Medical Colleges under the service

quota considering their service under the Government;

BE it enacted in the Fifty-ninth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—

1.  Short  title  and  commencement.—(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Kerala

Medical Officers’ Admission to Postgraduate Courses under Service Quota Act, 2008.

(2) It shall come into force at once.

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a)  ‘difficult  rural  area  service’ means  the  service  rendered  by  a  Medical

Officer in a rural area declared by the Government as ‘difficult rural area’;

(b) ‘Government’ means the Government of Kerala;

(c) ‘Head of Department’ means the Director of Medical  Education or the

Director  of  Health Services or  the Director  of  Insurance Medical  Services or  the

Director of Municipal  Administration of  the State of Kerala,  as the case may be,

under whose control a Medical Officer serves;

*Received the assent of the President on the 16th day of October, 2008 and published in the Kerala 
Extraordinary Gazette No.2297 dated 24th October, 2008.



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(d) ‘Medical Officer’ means a doctor with M.B.B.S. qualification who is in

service under the control of a Head of Department and includes a lecturer or any

other doctor with a different designation as the Government may specify;

(e) ‘Postgraduate Course’ means any course of study after M.B.B.S. which

may be a degree or diploma course declared as such in the prospectus;

(f)  ‘Postgraduate  Course  Selection  Committee’  means  the  committee

constituted under section 4;

(g) ‘prescribed’ means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(h)  ‘prospectus’  means  the  prospectus  issued  by  the  Director  of  Medical

Education  under  the  direction  of  the  Government  every  year  for  admission  to

Postgraduate Course;

(i) ‘rural area service’ means the service rendered by a Medical Officer in an

area declared by the Government as ‘rural area’;

(j)  ‘service’ means  the  service rendered by the  Medical  Officer  under  the

Government for such period as may be prescribed;

(k) ‘service quota’ means the number of seats allotted for Medical Officers in

the service of the State, from time to time, for admission to a Postgraduate Course of

study, on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed;

(l) ‘State’ means the State of Kerala.

3.  Selection of Medical Officers for admission to Postgraduate Course Under

the  Service  Quota.—Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in  the  Indian  Medical

Council  Act,  1956  (Central  Act  102  of  1956)  or  any  rule  or  regulation  issued

thereunder  or  in  any  judgement,  decree  or  order  of  any  court  or  authority,  the

selection of Medical Officers for admission to Postgraduate Course of study in the

State under the service quota shall be made only under the provisions of this Act.



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4. Constitution of Postgraduate Course Medical Selection Committee.—(1) The

Government  may  constitute  a  Postgraduate  Course  Selection  Committee  for  the

purpose of selection of Medical Officers under the service quota with the following

ex-officio members, namely:—

(a) The Secretary to Government, Health and Family Welfare Department,

Government of Kerala;

(b) The Director of Medical Education;

(c) The Director of Health Services;

(d) The Director of Insurance Medical Services;

(e) The Joint Director of Medical Education(M);

(f) The Joint Director of Medical Education (G).

(2)  The Secretary to  Government,  Health  and Family Welfare  Department

shall be the Chairman and the Director of Medical Education shall be the Convenor

of the Committee. 

(3) The Committee shall discharge its functions in such manner as may be

prescribed.

5.  Procedure  for  selection.—(1)  The  Government  may  set  apart  seats  not

exceeding forty per cent of the total seats available to State quota in an academic

year, for selection of Medical Officers under service quota considering their service

under the Government for admission to Postgraduate Medical Courses in the Medical

Colleges of the State in such manner as may be prescribed.

(2) The academic qualification for admission to the Postgraduate Course shall

be M.B.B.S. degree with minimum fifty per cent marks and the other qualifications

shall be such as may be prescribed. 



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(3) The details of eligibility for admission, the duration of courses, allotment,

fee to be paid, reservations of seats and such other details shall be published every

year in the prospectus before the commencement of admission.

(4) The Postgraduate Course Selection Committee shall finalise the selection

list strictly based on the seniority in service of the Medical Officers and following

such other criteria as may be prescribed.

(5) The selection list finalised under sub-section (4) shall be published by the

Postgraduate Course Selection Committee for the information of the applicants.

6.  Weightage for  rural  service.—Every Medical  Officer  who has  ‘rural  area

service’ or ‘difficult rural area service’, as the case may be, in the State shall be given

weightage in selection in such manner as may be prescribed.

7. Protection of action taken in good faith.—No suit, prosecution or other legal

proceeding shall lie against the Government or any of its officers or employees for

any act or omission which is done in good faith or intended or omitted to be done

under this Act.

8.  Removal of difficulties.—(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the

provisions of this Act, the Government may as occasion may require, by order, do

anything not inconsistent with this Act or the rules made thereunder which appear to

them to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of removing the difficulty:

Provided that no order under this sub-section shall be issued after the expiration

of a period of two years from the commencement of this Act.

(2) Every order made under sub-section (1) shall be laid before the Legislative

Assembly.

9.  Power  to  make  rules.—(1)  The  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the

Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out all or any of the purposes of this Act.



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(2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be, after it is

made,  before the Legislative Assembly while it  is in session for a total period of

fourteen days, which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions

and if before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately

following, the Legislative Assembly makes any modification in the rule or decides

that the rule should not be made, the rule shall, thereafter have effect only in such

modified form or be of no effect,  as the case may be, so however, that any such

modification  or  annulment  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the  validity  of  anything

previously done under that rule.