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Notices to Centre, AIIMS director

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Centre, the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and its Director, P. Venugopal, on a public interest litigation (PIL) by a non-government organisation, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, challenging the continuation of Dr. Venugopal in the post even after his retirement.

A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice M. K. Sharma and Justice Reva Khetrapal directed the respondents to file replies to the PIL by August 1.

Counsel for the petitioner, Prashant Bhushan, submitted before the Bench that the petitioner had come to know about the issue through a report in a weekly newspaper. Despite this, the Centre failed to take any action, and Dr. Venugopal was still being allowed to continue as Director of the Institute and Professor in its Department of Cardio-Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, the petition said.

The petitioner also challenged the appointment of Dr. Venogopal saying that his appointment was illegal as it was against the statutory rules and regulations.

Mr. Bhushan submitted that Regulation 30 of theAIIMS Regulations, 1999, made it clear that in no case a person beyond the superannuation age of 62 years can be allowed to continue in a teaching post or non-teaching post, and this was a mandatory rule and no relaxation was permissible under the AIIMS Act, 1956, or the AIIMS Regulations 1999. At the time of his appointment, Dr. Venugopal was 61 years old but despite this he was appointed to the post having a term of six years, the petition said. Therefore, his appointment was against the statutory regulations from the very inception, the petition added.

Dr. Venugopal attained the age of 62 years on July 6, 2004, yet he was allowed to continue as Director in violation of the statutory regulations, the petitioner submitted.

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