HC Nod to JIPMER's Director appointment

Chennai: The filling of the Director's position at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer), Puducherry has finally received the Madras High Court clearance. The Court has dismissed a writ petition that for the past 4 months had acted as the hurdle in the way of the vacancy being filled. With the writ out of the way, the centre has now got court permission to start the selection process for Director, JIPMER.

A Division Bench of Justices Huluvadi G. Ramesh and M. Dhandapani in consultation with Additional Solicitor General G. Rajagopalan, representing the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, concluded that JIPMER being an institute of national importance could not have the Director’s post vacant for such a long duration, even if a result of pending court litigation.

The ASG contention that two of the five doctors who had jointly filed the present petition had already been shortlisted for the post was recorded by the judges. Therefore, they were of the opinion that there was no point in delaying the selection process, any further.

The present writ petition is the second litigation initiated before the High Court, against the selection, by the litigants.

The first, filed in March this year by senior faculty members Gopal Krushna Pal, R. Raveendran, Abdoul Hamide, Ashok S. Badhe, Surender Kumar and Sunil K. Narayan. They alleged various irregularities in the constitution of the screening committee for selection and the shortlisting of candidates for the interview reported the Hindu.

A maintenance of status quo had been ordered by Justice T. Raja in the earlier case. The petition, however, was subsequently withdrawn with liberty given to the petitioners to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal, which also on April 20 granted an interim order of status quo.

The Centre, however, vacated the order on 27th April at the instance of the Centre.