- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, AT DHARWAD DATED THIS THE 6TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MRS JUSTICE K.S.HEMALEKHA WRIT PETITION NO. 103567 OF 2025 (S-RES) BETWEEN: DR. A.N. DATTATRI AGED ABOUT 56 YEARS, PROFESSOR AND HEAD, DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACOLOGY, KARNATAKA MEDICAL COLLEGE AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE, (KMC-RI), HUBBALLI-580021. …PETITIONER (BY SRI. SUNIL S. DESAI, ADVOCATE) AND: 1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA REPRESENTED BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL EDUCATION AND VICE-CHAIRMAN, KMC-RI GOVERNING COUNCIL, NO.610, 6TH FLOOR, 4TH GATE, M.S.BUILDING, BENGALURU-560 001. 2. THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER KARNATAKA MEDICAL COLLEGE AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE (KMC-RI), HUBBALLI-580021. …RESPONDENTS (BY SMT. NANDINI B.SOMAPUR, AGA FOR R1; SRI. GOPAL B.PATIL, ADVOCATE FOR R2) THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLE 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO ISSUE A WRIT OF MANDAMUS DIRECTING THE 1ST RESPONDENTS TO APPOINT THE DIRECTOR, THE PRINCIPAL AND THE MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENT TO THE KARNATAKA MEDICAL COLLEGE AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE (KMC-RI) ON REGULAR BASIS AS PER ITS OWN BY-LAWS, IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE AND EQUITY AND ETC. MANJANNA E Digitally signed by MANJANNA E Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA DHARWAD BENCH Date: 2026.02.18 10:31:22 +0530 - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 THIS WRIT PETITION COMING ON FOR ORDER THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: THE HON'BLE MRS JUSTICE K.S.HEMALEKHA ORAL ORDER The petitioner, a Senior Officer and Head of the Department in Karnataka Medical College and Research Institute (KMC-RI), has approached this Court seeking a writ of mandamus directing the State and the institute to make regular appointment to the post of Director, Principal and Medical Superintendent, contending that the continued appointment of officers on in-charge basis for years together is contrary to the statutory regulations, bye-laws and settled principles of service jurisprudence. Brief facts: 2. The petitioner is serving in KMC-RI for more than two decades and states that he eligible to be considered for the higher administrative post under the National Medical Commission (Teachers Eligibility Qualification in Medical Institutions) Regulations, 2022 (‘NMC Regulations, 2022’ for short), the bye-laws of KMC-RI and the cadre and - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 recruitment Rules. It is a grievance of the petitioner that despite availability of the eligible senior faculty, the respondents have consistently failed to fill the post of Director, Principal and Medical Superintendent on regular basis and instead, have continued to appoint officers on in- charge basis for several years. According to the petitioner, such in-charge arrangements, which are meant to be temporary stop-gap measures, have become permanent mode of administration, thereby defeating the statutory mandate of seniority-cum-merit and adversely affecting institutional governance. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the NMC Regulations, 2022 mandate that the appointment of administrative posts such as Director, Principal and Medical Superintendent shall be made on seniority-cum- merit basis. It is urged that in-charge arrangements are permissible only for a short and limited duration and cannot be continued indefinitely. The continued practice of - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 appointing in-charge Officers for years together is alleged to be arbitrary, illegal and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner submits that the failure to make regular appointments have resulted in stagnation, lack of accountability and erosion of administrative discipline in the institution. 4. Per contra, learned counsel for respondent No.2 contends that the writ petition is not maintainable and the petitioner has no vested right to seek appointment to administrative post. It is contended that in-charge appointments were made due to administrative exigency, including non-availability or non-consent of eligible candidates. Reliance is placed on Rule 68 of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules, 1958 (‘KCSR’ for short) asserting that in-charge arrangements are legally permissible. It is further contended that the steps have been initiated for regular recruitment and the institution is functioning smoothly under the present arrangement. - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 5. This Court has carefully considered the rival submissions and perused the material on record. 6. The question that falls for consideration is: “Whether continued appointment of Director, Principal and Medical Superintendent of KMC-RI on in-charge basis for prolonged and indefinite period is legally sustainable, and whether a direction is required to the State to make regular appointments to this administrative post in accordance with law?” 7. This Court has carefully examined the statutory frameworks governing appointments to administrative posts in medical institutions, particularly the NMC Regulations, 2022 and the bye-laws of KMC-RI. Statutory mandate under Regulation 3.6 of Regulations 2022 mandates as under: “The position of Dean / Director / Principal of a Medical College / Institution should be held by a person possessing a recognized postgraduate medical from a recognized institution with a minimum of ten years which at least five years should be as Professor in the Department. Appointment to these posts shall be made - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 on seniority-cum-merit basis. The Dean/Director/Principal of Medical Institution shall not hold the post of Head of Department.” 8. Similarly, Regulation 3.7 provides in respect of the Medical Superintendent that ‘the Medical Superintendent’ shall possess a recognized post-graduate medical degree with a minimum of ten years teaching experience, out of which at least five years should be as a Professor. Appointment of these posts should be made on seniority-cum-merit basis.’ Further, Regulation 3.10 specifically governs administrative and in-charge arrangements. ‘Appointments to administrative posts in Government institutions including in-charge arrangements amongst eligible candidates, shall be based on inter se vertical seniority based on the date of entry into the institution-Government service.’ 9. A conjoint reading of above provisions leaves no manner of doubt that: - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 i. The regulations contemplate regular appointments as the rule and ii. Even in-charge arrangements are permissible only among eligible senior candidates and only as a temporary measure. 10. The regulations do not envisage a situation where in-charge appointments become the permanent mode of administration. 11. The bye-laws of KMC-RI reinforce the same statutory intent. Clause 8(e) of the bye-laws expressly provides ‘appointment in case of in-charge arrangement shall be as per the minimum eligibility criteria prescribed for that post and shall be for a maximum period of six months only.’ The bye-laws further categorically state that: a. Minimum qualification shall not be relaxed under any circumstances and b. Appointments to posts such as Director, Principal and Medical Superintendent shall be strictly in - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 accordance with the NMC norms and cadre and recruitment rules. Thus, the bye-laws themselves place an outer temporal limit or in-charge arrangement and treat such arrangement as an exception, not the norm. 12. In the present case, admitted position is that the post of Director, Principal and Medical Superintendent had been filled on in-charge basis continuously, for several years, sometimes even for nearly a decade. This Court finds that: i. Such prolonged continuation directly violates Regulations 3.6, 3.7 and 3.10 of the NMC Regulations, 2022. ii. Defeats clause 8(e) of the KMC-RI bye-laws and iii. Renders the statutory requirement of seniority- cum-merit nugatory. 13. In-charge arrangements are intended only to meet short-term administrative expectancy. They cannot be - 9 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 permitted to subsist indefinitely as doing so would amount to circumventing the statutory selection process itself. The respondent's reliance on Rule 68 of the KCSR is wholly misplaced. 14. Even Rule 68 recognizes that: i. In-charge arrangements are temporary in nature and ii. Continuation beyond six months requires special justification and approval. 15. Rule 68 cannot be read in isolation to override the specific mandate of NMC Regulations, 2022 and the institutional bye-laws which occupied the field in matters of medical administration. 16. Permitting in-charge administration to continue for years together: i. Erodes administrative accountability; ii. Encourages arbitrariness in public administration, and - 10 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 iii. Undermines the rule of law in statutory institutions. 17. What is conceived as a stop-gap measure cannot be converted into a parallel system of governance. The continuation of the Director, Principal, and Medical Superintendent of KMC-RI on in-charge basis for prolonged and indefinite period is illegal, arbitrary, and contrary to NMC Regulations, 2022 and the bye-laws of the institution. Once the statutory framework mandates regular appointment, failure of the statute to initiate and complete the appointment process cannot be justified on the ground of administrative convenience. Accordingly, for the reasons recorded above, the point framed for consideration is answered and this Court pass the following: ORDER i. The writ petition is allowed in part. ii. A writ of mandamus is issued directing the State Government / Department of Medical Education to - 11 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 initiate and complete the process of regular appointment to the post of Director, Principal and Medical Superintendent of KMC-RI, strictly in accordance with the applicable statutory regulations and rules on the basis of the seniority-cum-merit within a period of six months from the date of receipt of the copy of this order. iii. It is further directed that in-charge arrangements shall be treated only as a stop-gap measure shall not be continued beyond the stipulated period and shall not be extended as a matter of course or in a routine manner. iv. The respondents are restrained from perpetuating or renewing in-charge appointments to the aforesaid administrative posts, except to meet its emergent exigency and even then only for a strictly limited duration consistent with the statutory framework. - 12 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC-D:1768 WP No. 103567 of 2025 v. The respondent shall ensure that no administrative post in KMC-RI remains under in-charge arrangement indefinitely or in the manner that defeats the statutory mandate of regular appointment. Sd/- JUSTICE K.S.HEMALEKHA AT Ct:VH List No.: 1 Sl No.: 28