PGI Chandigarh appoints Prof RK Ratho as interim dean academics
This arrangement is temporary and will remain in effect until the next hearing on July 22, 2024, as per the orders of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Chandigarh
Following the orders of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Chandigarh, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has appointed Professor Radha Kanta Ratho, the head of the department of virology and sub-dean (research), as the officiating dean (academics) on July 3, 2024. This arrangement is temporary and will remain in effect until the next hearing on July 22, 2024, as per the orders of CAT.
Professor RK Ratho’s appointment comes in compliance with Regulation 25(2) of the PGIMER, Chandigarh Regulations, 1967.
The official spokesperson of PGIMER said this interim allocation is to ensure the smooth functioning of the institute during this period.
Previously, Professor Naresh K Panda, who was the head of the ENT department, held the charge of dean (academics) until his retirement on June 29, 2024.
Dr Panda was appointed the officiating dean (academics) on April 24, 2023, despite the seniority claim of Professor Surjit Singh, head of the paediatric medicine department. This sparked a row over seniority, as the dean (academics) position is typically held by the senior-most faculty member.
A high-powered committee headed by a retired PGIMER faculty member, Prof D Behera, issued an updated provisional seniority list on July 27, 2023. This list placed Dr Panda at the top and Dr Surjit at fourth place, differing from a similar list in 2022 that ranked Dr Surjit as the senior-most.
The dispute over seniority is pending with the Chandigarh bench of CAT. On March 8, the Union ministry of health had appointed Dr Surjit Singh as dean (academics), replacing Dr Panda.
Dr Panda had challenged this order, leading CAT to restrain PGIMER from accepting Dr Singh’s joining report on March 11. The ministry deemed the initial appointment of Dr Panda as irregular and argued that Dr Panda had not followed proper channels for his grievance, directly approaching the CAT instead.
In May 2023, Dr Surjit accused PGIMER director Dr Vivek Lal of attempting to keep him from the dean (academics) post, an allegation that the latter has denied.