INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - JULY 2006
THE MONTH THAT WAS...

CURRENT ACCOUNT WILL BE IN RED: RBI

THE Manmohan Singh government on Friday got a cracking slap from the Delhi High Court when it stayed the AIIMS governing body's recommendation sacking Dr P Venugopal from the director's post.

Buoyed by Justice Anil Kumar's order granting an interim stay on the governing body's diktat, the BJP late Friday afternoon went on the offensive, demanding health and family welfare minister Anbumani Ramadoss' dismissal from the Union cabinet for landing the prestigious institute into a “complete mess”.

The party also sought President A P J Abdul Kalam's intervention in restoring the services of Dr Venugopal “with honour and dignity, in the interest of the country's professionals, research and academic institutions, and the autonomous functioning of institutes of excellence.”

The government's core committee, which met here on Friday evening under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also took note of the high court's order, but refused to respond to it on the ground that the stay granted by Justice Kumar was only interim in nature.

The court, while passing the order, also issued notices to the Centre, AIIMS, Union health and family welfare minister and the Election Commission, asking them to file their replies within two weeks on Dr Venugopal's petition challenging the recommendation of institute's apex body.

Dr Venugopal, in his petition, has also sought Dr Ramadoss' disqualification on the ground that he was holding an office of profit as president of the premier institute.

Justice Kumar granted the interim stay after a marathon three-hour argument advanced by additional solicitor general Gopal Subramanian and senior counsel Arun Jaitley, who appeared on behalf of Dr Venugopal.

Mr Jaitley tore into the grounds prepared by the governing body to secure Dr Venugopal's dismissal. “The two-page note circulated at the meeting makes no mention of the reasons to seek his dismissal. The only ground put forward was the speech that Dr Venugopal delivered a few weeks ago, and there was nothing objectionable in it,” the former Union minister argued while reading out the contents of the speech. “Even otherwise, a person cannot be dismissed for expressing himself freely,” he added..