Dr. P. Venugopal

NEW DELHI: Coming out with a proposal for an out-of-court settlement of the dispute between Union Health Ministry and the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences Director, P. Venugopal, the Centre on Thursday assured the Delhi High Court that it would not pass any sacking order against the Director till his petition challenging the recommendation for his termination was decided by the court.

Additional Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam made the compromise offer during his argument on Dr. Venugopal's petition seeking quashing of the institute's governing body recommendation to the Government to terminate his service.

Mr. Subramaniam said if Dr. Venugopal relinquished the post on his own, the governing body would also withdraw the recommendation for his dismissal.

However, Arun Jaitley, counsel for Dr. Venugopal, was non-committal on the compromise formula saying that the focus of the petitioner was protection of the autonomy of the institute.

When Mr. Jaitley pressed for a direction to the Government not to act upon the governing body recommendation for termination of Dr. Venugopal from service, Mr. Subramaniam assured the court that the Centre would not act upon it till the matter was sub judice.

Beginning his argument, Mr. Jaitley submitted that the governing body recommendation was unlawful, as it was not properly constituted.

Referring to an amendment made to the AIIMS Act in 2000, Mr. Jaitley said the amendment says that as soon as an Member of Parliament becomes a Minister or Minister of State or Deputy Minister, Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House or the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he or she shall lose his membership of the institute.

Since the nomination of Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss as member and later as president of the governing body was in violation of the Act, the body was not legally competent to make recommendation for termination of Dr. Venugopal from service, Mr. Jaitley submitted.

Mr. Subramaniam in his submission said the governing body recommendation for dismissal of Dr. Venugopal was legally competent as the AIIMS Director could be removed by serving on him three month's notice or by paying him salaries for as many months. The hearing will continue on Friday.

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