Param Bir Singh challenges termination as Lilavati Hospital Executive Director, calls it illegal
Mumbai: Days after being removed from his post as Executive Director of Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre for filing a criminal complaint against the trustees, former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has challenged his termination before the Charity Commissioner, seeking action against what he has termed an illegal removal.
Singh, who was appointed as Executive Director in July 2024 for a five-year term, was removed from his position within hours of lodging a complaint at Bandra Police Station against members of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT), the body that governs the hospital. In the complaint, he alleged forgery, misappropriation of trust funds, and criminal intimidation, among other offences. Before approaching the police, he had written on February 2 to the trust’s chairperson, Charu Mehta, flagging what he described as serious malpractices affecting the governance and operations of the hospital. According to reports, he moved the police after receiving no response from the board.
As reported by Hindustan Times, Singh has now approached the Charity Commissioner, contesting his removal and seeking appropriate relief. His petition argues that the decision to terminate him was not in accordance with due process.
Speaking to HT, Singh said, “I have filed a petition before the charity commissioner for setting aside the illegal order of termination of my services and also for action against some of the trustees indulging in illegal activities and against the interests of the trust.”
On the other hand, Rajiv Mehta, one of the permanent trustees and the son of chairperson Charu Mehta, confirmed that Singh’s services had been terminated. He maintained that Singh’s complaint did not have legal merit and justified the trust’s decision to remove him.
Countering the allegations, Rajiv Mehta and Prashant Mehta have accused Param Bir Singh and their brother Rajesh Mehta, who is also a permanent trustee, of fabricating the minutes of a board meeting conducted in July 2024. They have claimed that this was done with the intention of taking control of the trust’s functioning.
In a complaint submitted on February 6 to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX), Prashant Mehta alleged that Rajesh Mehta, Singh, and six former employees of the LKMMT were involved in a criminal conspiracy. He claimed they falsified the minutes of the board meeting, diverted more than Rs 100 crore from the trust’s funds, and attempted to unlawfully assume control over the trust’s administration. Prashant Mehta further alleged that Singh and Rajesh Mehta sought to stage a “coup and mutiny” within the trust and the hospital management.
The dispute is the latest development in an ongoing conflict within the trust. Last year, Singh had addressed two press conferences on behalf of LKMMT, alleging that former trustees siphoned off Rs 1,250 crore over two decades and even resorted to black magic to retain control over the trust.
He had also accused Sashidhar Jagdishan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of HDFC Bank, of accepting Rs 2.05 crore as a bribe to facilitate the alleged diversion of trust funds. Jagdishan denied the allegations and challenged them before the Bombay High Court.
