SC Rejects Plea against Patna HC order of quashing FIR against Ex AIIMS Patna Chief

The Apex Court Division bench comprising of Justices UU Lalit and KM Joseph had mentioned, in the daily order dated 25.02.2021, that they "do not see any reason to interfere in the matter."

The present case is involved with an FIR lodged against the former AIIMS-Patna chief Dr. Girish Kumar Singh with SC/ST police station in Patna on October 22, 2016.

Read also: Bihar: Former AIIMS-Patna Director Arrested, Released On Personal Bond Hours Later

As per the latest media report by the Times of India, a former faculty of the institution, Dr. Ajay Choudhary had previously alleged that Director Singh and the pharmacology department head Dr. Prem Prakash Gupta had used caste remark against him for removing him from the post of the senior resident doctor. The incident had happened when he had gone to meet them for knowing reasons.

Following this, Dr. Choudhary had received a letter removing him on grounds of not finding him fit for an extension on 01.08.2016. Earlier, he had also applied for an experience certificate which had also been denied, reports the daily. Following this, Choudhary had approached the Police and had lodged the FIR.

Based on the FIR, the former chief of AIIMS-Patna had been arrested on November 14, 2016, from the premises of the institution itself where he had come to attend his farewell function.

Medical Dialogues, in 2016, had reported that the former director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, Dr Girish Kumar Singh had been arrested from the institute's guest house in a case of alleged manhandling of a former senior resident doctor of the institute while he was on duty. Singh had been released after few hours on a personal bond that he would appear before the court.

Dr. Ajay Chaudhary, a former senior resident doctor with the institute, in his complaint with the SC/ST police station had alleged the senior doctor of harassing, abusing, and thrashing him.

It had also been reported by Medical Dialogues that days after the arrest of the former director of AIIMS Patna, Dr. Girish Kumar Singh, the opposition has risen against the police officers who, as per the faculty members arrested the director despite him having immunity from the court.

However, TOI in the latest report has added that a lower court in Patna had already ordered no-coercive action against him. Singh had retired on October 31, 2016.

Following this, Justice Birendra Kumar had allowed two separate criminal writ petitions of Singh and Gupta in the Patna high court on November 15, 2017, for quashing of the FIR against them. The Patna HC in its verdict had observed that the FIR had been a result of not granting experience certificate to Choudhary.

In fact, the daily reports, that the then IG (weaker section) Anil Kishore Yadav, SC/ST police station SHO Ram Shobhit Mochi and investigating officer Kamlesh Prasad are still facing contempt charges in the high court for Singh's illegal arrest.

Following the judgment by the Patna High Court, Choudhary had approached the Apex Court and had challenged the HC order quashing the FIR charges against the former AIIMS-Patna chief and another faculty.

TOI adds that the counsel appearing for the ex AIIMS the chief had submitted before the Apex Court bench that another bench of the apex court had already refused to interfere with the high court's decision of quashing the FIR against Gupta, who faced similar charges in the FIR. Gupta had retired from the institute as a dean a month before getting relief from the Apex Court on September 18, 2019.

While listening to the petition filed by Choudhary, the Apex Court bench comprising of Justices UU Lalit and KM Joseph had observed in their Thursday order that they could see no reason to interfere in the matter. "The Special Leave Petition is, accordingly, dismissed," added the Court order.