In a bid to fill over 1,000 vacant posts of general duty medical officers (GDMO) and non-teaching staff (NTS) across Delhi government hospitals, the Delhi High Court has directed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to begin recruitment without waiting for the regular annual cycle, “as an exceptional case”.

The direction, issued by a division bench of Justices Prathiba Singh and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on October 30 – it was made public on November 3 – came while hearing a 2017 suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) instituted to monitor facilities in Delhi hospitals.

The Delhi government, in a status report submitted to the HC on October 29, had admitted that over one-third (645) of its sanctioned posts (1,785) for GDMO and over 40% of its sanctioned posts (926) for NTS are vacant.

The recruiting agency for both these posts is UPSC, which, as per policy, accepts requisitions for filling the vacant posts from January to March every year.

The government told HC that while it had sent the…