M A I N   N E W S

CAT upholds appointment of PGI chief
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, March 1
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has upheld the appointment of Prof YK Chawla as the Director of PGIMER, Chandigarh, rejecting the complaint of Dr Digambar Behera, who was among the five short-listed candidates for the post.

Dr Behera had challenged the appointment, contending that he was more competent and meritorious and that the selection procedure had been vitiated due to various reasons. The selection committee had members who were holding lower level posts and had sub-delegated its functions to another committee without taking approval from either the PGI or the Department of Personnel and Training, Dr Behera had argued.

Senior counsel Nidhesh Gupta, arguing for Prof Chawla, rebutted all the charges, maintaining that the selection committee had been constituted strictly in accordance with Regulation 23 of the PGI guidelines and thus, there was no vitiation.

There was no sub-delegation and the selection was done by adopting a uniform method, strictly adhering to various provisions of the PGI Act. Accepting Gupta’s submissions, the tribunal’s principal Bench at Delhi yesterday dismissed the case filed by Dr Behera.