PGI doc moves HC against appointment process

Posts of professors

A DOCTOR from the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow today filed a writ petition in the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court challenging the ongoing process of appointment for the posts of professors at the institute.

The petition has been filed following a news report on the issue in Hindustan Times edition dated November 15, 2006.

The appointment process has been termed as “in contravention of Governor’s repeated orders on the issue.” The Governor, quoting SGPGIMS Act, had set aside advertisements that invited applications for the posts of professors in various departments of the institute requiring minimum qualification for applicants as ‘14 years experience after MD’.

As per the Act, the minimum qualification for the post of professor is ‘10 years after MD’ and not 14 years.

The writ petition (No. 1578 Of/2006(SB) filed by Dr CK Pandey, through his counsel Hari Govind Upadhyay, will be heard by the division bench comprising Justice UK Dhaon and Justice Allah Raham on Friday.

Dr Pandey has claimed in the petition that the recruitment process deprived him of the chance to apply for the post of professor.

The Hindustan Times report had pointed out that the recruitment process requiring 14 years experience as minimum qualification only narrowed down the selection procedure, denying opportunity to many potential candidates for the post and at the same time benefiting a certain section of candidates.

It is since 2004 that the SGPGIMS administration has been repeatedly attempting to appoint professors on the basis of 14 years experience and the Governor has restrained the SGPGIMS over and over again from making the appointments. Against all these attempts doctors from SGPGIMS had sent representations to the Governor. This is for the first time that someone has moved the court on the issue.