AIIMs doctors' body want courts to decide on promotions

An AIIMS doctors' body today asked the institute's Board to allow courts to decide on the issue of granting promotions to some Assistant Professors, claiming they were "illegally" appointed earlier and demanded that a decision on the issue be put on hold till then.
The AIIMS Board is likely to take up the issue when it meets as scheduled on Friday, while .
In a letter, the SC/ST Medical Association urged Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad "to ask the Ministry to hold back its decision to provide promotions to these illegal appointees on July 19 ... And allow the matter to be decided by the court on its merit on July 27."

The Association also said that on one hand, "even though illegalities of appointments are under judicial review, these illegalities are being allowed to be perpetuated by providing these appointees the benefit of repeated promotions."
It also alleged that while during NDA rule, BJP leaders allowed the "illegal" appointments, UPA government was now granting promotions to these appointees.
Copies of the letter has been sent to the Prime Minister, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, BSP chief Mayawati, apart from the National Commission for SC and ST and parliamentary panels.
The letter came in the backdrop of MPs of several parties writing to the Prime Minister and raising the issue in Parliament during the last session alleging discrimination being meted out to SC, ST and OBC doctors in AIIMS, driving some of them to suicide.

Several MPs, including Sharad Yadav (JD-U) and Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M), had earlier written to the Prime Minister on the issue.