CAT notice to AIIMS over removal of two doctors

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Thursday issued notice to the AIIMS here over the removal of two doctors of the medicine department without proper inquiry into an allegation that they misbehaved with a patient in September 2015.

The CAT demanded a response by April 4 from the administration of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) as to why a formal inquiry was not conducted into the charge made against the two doctors before removing them from the institution.

The AIIMS had on January 10 terminated the services of Kuldeep Kumar and Arvind Kumar of the medicine department for allegedly misbehaving with a patient and manhandling him in September last year.

A committee was set up under department head S.K. Sharma, which earlier this month took the decision to terminate the services of the two doctors.

"The CAT has said that the punitive order was given by the AIIMS administration without the disciplinary procedure. Also, the institution has been asked on why were the two doctors not allowed to present their version over the issue for which they have been removed," an advocate involved in the matter, who did not want to be identified, told IANS.

On Wednesday, the Faculty Association of AIIMS (FAAIIMS) had written to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, threatening to go on an indefinite strike if the minister failed to revoke the termination.

Earlier, a doctor associated with FAAIIMS said: "Only seven faculties have been terminated till now in the history of AIIMS, but that was also because they went abroad and did not respond to the communication by the institution about their return."