PGI's Dean Appointment: CAT stays Health Ministry order of joining of Dr Surjit Singh

Chandigarh: Putting a hold on the recent appointment of Prof Dr Surjit Singh as dean of academics, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Monday ordered the Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh not to accept his joining report till the next date of hearing.

In this regard, the bench comprising Ramesh Singh Thakur and Rashmi Saxena Sahni passed the direction against the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare order on March 8 which granted the appointment of Dr Surjit Singh, professor and head of the paediatric medicine department as the new dean in place of Dr Naresh Panda, professor and head of ENT department, who was holding the officiating charge of dean (academic). Furthermore, the order stated that Dr Panda would assume the position of Dean of Research.  

The bench directed that the present appointment shall continue till the next date of hearing i.e. April 8.

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Opposing the move, Dr Panda submitted a petition to the CAT challenging the government directive and the PGI administration's decision regarding Prof Surjit's seniority for the dean of academics position. He argued that he had the highest seniority among the professors, with Dr Singh ranked lower on the seniority list. 

According to the recruitment rules of the PGI for the post of dean, "One must be a professor in the department of the institute having at least three years experience..would be appointed as the dean by the institute on the recommendations of the director of the institute, taking into consideration the seniority, suitability and other relevant factors for a tenure of three years.” 

Following this, Dr Panda asserted his position as the senior professor and believed that he deserved to be considered for the post but was given the charge of Dean of Research. According to him, the Director had formed a panel that recommended his name for the position of Dean of Academics, taking into account his seniority and suitability. However, he came to know that his name was not mentioned in the list, The Tribune reports.

Meanwhile, as per the HT news report, the director sent a panel that included Dr Panda’s name and not Dr Singh's. It has been claimed that the ministry notified Dr Singh's name, and it was submitted.

To verify the statement, a note on the director’s recommendations sent to the ministry was produced before CAT. It was observed that Dr Singh’s name was not mentioned in the list.

Taking the matter into consideration, the Bench observed, 

“We have considered the matter and are of the view that prima facie the applicant has made out his case for interim direction. The respondents are directed not to accept the joining report of respondent no. 3 (private respondent) till next hearing”.

According to a TOI news report, Dr Surjit earlier faced severe accusations from seven female professors who claimed he was 'biased' and described his management approach as 'dictatorial'. The professors took their complaints to the Union ministry, and one of them filed a formal complaint with the National Commission for Women in New Delhi.

This prompted the administration to not mention Dr Singh's name in the panel list. It had submitted five names in the panel for the post of dean academics as per the seniority to the ministry. This included Prof Naresh Panda, Prof R K Ratho, Prof Sanjay Jain, Prof Ashima Goyal and Prof K S Thingam.

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