Jhansi Medical College Fire: HC stays suspension of Former Chief Medical Superintendent

Lucknow: Noting that a doctor had been suspended for more than a year while the enquiry into a fire incident at Maharani Laxmibai Medical College, Jhansi, has still not been completed despite being initiated more than a year ago, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has put the former Chief Medical Superintendent’s (CMS) suspension on hold.

The interim relief was granted after the doctor’s counsel argued that she had no role to play in the unfortunate incident and was being unnecessarily harassed, as neither the enquiry proceedings nor the suspension order was being revoked. The counsel also submitted that keeping an employee under suspension for a long period is impermissible, especially when the enquiry remains incomplete.

Considering her situation, a single bench of Justice Shree Prakash Singh noted that more than one year had passed since the enquiry was initiated, yet no conclusion had been reached.

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Medical Dialogues had earlier reported the tragic fire incident at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the medical college, which resulted in the deaths of at least 10 children. While several newborns were rescued from the outer and interior portions of the NICU, eight out of the 39 rescued infants later succumbed to illness.

Following the incident on November 15, 2024, a preliminary enquiry was conducted, after which Dr Sunita Rathaur, who was serving as the Chief Medical Superintendent, was placed under suspension. Subsequently, a full-fledged enquiry was constituted on December 13, 2024, and a chargesheet was issued in July 2025. Dr Rathaur submitted her reply to the chargesheet on July 17, 2025, followed by a supplementary reply to the chargesheet on October 6, 2025.

However, despite her cooperation, the enquiry did not reach its conclusion, prompting her to approach the High Court, as reported by Live Law.

Before the court, her counsel argued that she had no role to play in the unfortunate incident and, despite this, she is being harassed, as neither the enquiry proceeding nor the suspension order is being concluded or revoked. It was argued that there was no lapse, deviation, or non-cooperation on her part during the enquiry. It was further submitted that, as a doctor, her continued suspension was affecting public healthcare services, and therefore, her counsel prayed that the suspension deserved to be revoked.

Taking note of these arguments, the High Court stayed the operation of her suspension order, considering that more than one year has passed from the date of contemplating the enquiry against the petitioner, and the enquiry proceeding has not been concluded as yet

The court also issued notice to one of the respondents, sought affidavits from the remaining parties, and posted the matter for further hearing in the week commencing February 22.

The HC also clarified that the respondent authorities would be at liberty to conclude the enquiry proceedings within the shortest period of time.

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