Senior Patna AIIMS faculty facing termination charge, quits

Sushmita Das, an associate professor in the department of microbiology in the institute, resigned on March 4 citing personal reasons, within days of the institute’s governing body ratifying a decision to terminate her along with two other doctors.

A senior faculty member of Patna AIIMS, facing termination charges, resigned from service and could be charge-sheeted by the institute for allegedly not possessing the basic qualification at the time of her appointment, following an inquiry, which will help take a final call on her possible termination along with two other senior doctors facing similar charges.

Patna Bihar_Dec 10,2018-Patna Aiims building Bihar India on Monday Dec 10,2018. (Photo by Santosh Kumar /Hindustan Times)

Sushmita Das, an associate professor in the department of microbiology in the institute, resigned on March 4 citing personal reasons, days after the governing body, the apex authority on appointment and termination of services of doctors at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, ratified a proposal on February 18 to terminate services of three senior faculty members for lacking basic qualification on the date of their appointment in 2021-13. Das was one of them. However, the institute was yet to finalise the minutes of the February meeting.

Show-cause notices with an internal charge-sheet may be issued to the three after the proceedings of the governing body meeting were finalised. An inquiry will be conducted before the institute finally takes a call on their termination of services, said Dr PK Singh, director of AIIMS-Patna.

“We are working on it. We expect it to be ready next week,” Dr Singh said referring to the minutes of the governing body meeting.

In her letter to Dr Singh, Das said she wanted to discontinue her job to relocate to Kolkata with her family after the superannuation of her husband from government service on August 31, last year. She also requested that her resignation was accepted with only one month’s notice period, effective from March 4.

As per AIIMS rules, faculty members were supposed to give three months’ notice period before quitting. While her resignation had been accepted, it was still not clear if her request for serving only one-month notice period will be granted.

“Das has tendered her resignation. I’ve sent the file to the dean office. Let it be processed and we will take a call on it soon,” said Dr Singh.

The faculty members in question were issued show-cause notices three years back as well on the insistence of the health ministry, but they became in fructuous after the ministry constituted a four-member high-power committee, comprising the directors of AIIMS Bhubaneswar and Patna, the deputy director and the registrar of AIIMS-Delhi to inquire into the issue.