Panchkula civil surgeon was suspended without CM’s nod

As per the Rules of Business of Haryana government, a proposal for suspension of a Class-1 officer has to be submitted to the chief minister before an order is issued

The orders to place Panchkula civil surgeon Dr Jasjeet Kaur under suspension, issued on the directions of Haryana health minister Anil Vij, were not in conformity with the Rules of Business of the state government.

Dr Jasjeet Kaur was put under suspension on July 6.

The Rules of Business of the state government are framed under Article 166 of the Constitution for convenient transaction of the business of the government and for the allocation among ministers of the said business.

As per Clause 28 (1) (xxiv) of the Rules of Business, a proposal for suspension of a Class-1 officer has to be submitted to the chief minister before an order is issued. This means that the chief minister has the power and authority to decide the proposal of suspension of a Class-1 officer.

Dr Kaur, who is a Class-1 officer, however, was placed under suspension on the order of the health minister, a glaring omission unlikely to stand legal scrutiny, officials who have dealt with such matters said.

While an ex post facto (done after an action has been taken) approval was accorded on file by the chief minister, questions are being asked in the health department about the tearing hurry shown by the health minister in ordering Dr Kaur’s suspension without sending the file to the competent authority — the chief minister.

Dr Kaur’s suspension orders, signed by the superintendent health–1, additional chief secretary, health department, Haryana, were issued on the evening of July 6.

Haryana speaker and Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta had confirmed the suspension was a fallout of personal reasons: “It seems Anil Vij had given some direction, which was not followed by her.”

While Dr Kaur refused to talk, Vij and Rajeev Arora, Haryana’s additional chief secretary, health and family welfare, did not revert to HT’s multiple attempts to contact them.

Support pours in from residents, fraternity

Dr Kaur had taken charge as the Panchkula’s civil surgeon in February 2020, a month before the pandemic, and led the fight against it from the front.

“It is quite unfortunate... Dr Jasjeet Kaur deserves promotion for her dedication during the peak pandemic period; instead she has been put under suspension,” said SK Nayar, president of Citizens’ Welfare Association (CWA), an apex body of resident welfare associations in Panchkula, adding that he has received messages from many residents, who have shown their disappointment over the government action.

The CWA members have also written letters to the Haryana chief minister besides Vij and Gian Chand Gupta, demanding that Dr Kaur be reinstated.

People also criticised the move on social media. While a PGIMER doctor called it a “very poor treatment for a frontline worker”, a resident wrote: “Horrible! Only because she could not blindly follow the political bosses.” The government action has also been called “arbitrary” and “unjust” by many.

Meanwhile, Dr Rajiv Arya, president, Indian Medical Association, Panchkula, said: “This is not a way to suspend a person who has done so much for Panchkula by making the civil hospital the top public hospital in the state. She did her job really well and must have been given proper opportunity to explain her point before taking the final decision.”