Kochi - In its recent order, the Kerala High Court has recently vacated a tribunal order staying the extension granted to the incumbent director of the state's prestigious Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Dr Asha Kishore.
The decision to extend the tenure of Kishore till her retirement was taken by the Institute Body (IB) comprising 17 members including the Secretary, Department of Science and Technology and the Principal Secretary of the State Health department.
The institute director's post being a permanent one, the practice of extending term every five years till superannuation is a practice in the institute and not a reappointment, sources said. The post was also not notified as a tenured post.
Sree Chitra Institute is a central government institution that has the autonomous power to extend such tenures. However, when Dr Asha's ensure was extended in May, many questioned the extension. In July, a faculty member of the institute moved the CAT and sought to revoke the extension. It was based on this petition that the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) at Ernakulam, a statutory body that deals with the disputes pertaining to recruitment and service of persons appointed to public posts and services, had stayed the extension of Dr Asha's tenure on August 5.
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Challenging the CAT order, Dr Kishore approached the High Court.
Considering the plea, a division bench of the court set aside the order of the CAT and directed it to consider and dispose of the pending plea. With this order, Kishore can continue in the institute's director post till 2025, reports PTI.
As quoted by TNM, while setting aside CAT's order, the HC pointed out, "For appointing a person as a Director, the recommendation of the selection committee constituted by the central government is required. In this case, the petitioner was appointed based on the recommendation of the committee in the year 2015 and the Institute was only extending her tenure for a further period of five years."
The court observed that the procedure for the appointment is provided under Rule 7 (ii) of the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Rules and Regulations, 1984.
"As per this appointment to the post of Director shall be made by the Institute on the basis of recommendations of a Selection Committee constituted by the Central Government consisting of the Secretary, Department of Science and Technology of Government of India as Chairman, the Director-General of Indian Council of Medical Research, the President of the National Academy of Medical Sciences and the President of the Institution of Engineers (India) as members," read the Rule.
Dr Asha, in a letter to Union Minister Harsh Vardan in June, had cited that she was being targeted and subjected to mudslinging by a few external persons, adds TNM.