A Calcutta High Court bench on Wednesday set aside the state health department's decision to send junior doctor Aniket Mahata to a Raiganj hospital.
Mahata had chosen RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta during his counselling.
Justice Biswasjit Basu wrote in the order that the health department "is directed to deploy and/or engage the petitioner in the second vacancy of SR (senior resident) in the discipline of anaesthesiology at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital with immediate effect".
Mahata was one of the faces of the doctors' agitation last year after the rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar. He filed a petition on June 9, challenging the department's decision to post him at Raiganj Government Medical College and Hospital.
In his order, Justice Basu mentioned that with a rank of 24, Mahata was not given the hospital he chose, though two candidates with ranks of 26 and 34 were posted at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital based on their choice.
He also pointed out that only two out of 871 candidates were not allotted the hospital they chose.
"In the present case, the state, following the mandate of the said SOP, has posted 869 out of the total 871 candidates in the hospitals opted by them at the time of counselling, but such mandate has not been followed in posting the petitioner and another candidate."
The other candidate not assigned to the hospital of his choice is Asfakulla Naiya, another face of the doctors' movement.
ENT specialist Naiya chose Prafulla Chandra Sen Government Medical College in Arambagh. But he was sent to Deben Mahato Government Medical College and Hospital in Purulia.
Naiya has also approached the court challenging the state health department's decision.
Mahata and Naiya completed their postgraduate trainee period earlier this year. All doctors have to serve three years as senior residents in government hospitals after they obtain their postgraduate degrees. A merit list is prepared, and then counselling is held where the postgraduate doctors can choose a hospital based on their rank.
Debasish Halder, a second-year senior resident and another leader of the protests, too, has challenged the health department's decision to post him at Gazole Rural Hospital. His choice was Howrah district hospital.
The bench, which is also hearing the petitions by Naiya and Halder, did not pass any order on that.