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The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the government to reinstate eminent cardiologist P. Venugopal as director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) rejecting the law seeking his removal as AIIMS director after a raging row with Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

“I am happy that the Supreme Court has upheld the truth,” Venugopal said.

The bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and H.S. Bedi also declared as “malafide and unconstitutional” the union government’s law that fixed the retirement age of the AIIMS director at 65 years.

This amendment was passed in November 2007 after which Venugopal was removed. Against this decision Venugopal challenged the law in SC. It was today when SC strikes down AIIMS amendments and reinstates him to take over as the Director later in the day.

While Venugopal did not talk to the reporters directly, he conveyed his reaction to them through senior resident doctor Anil Sharma.

“The decision has thwarted the game-plan carried out in parliament,” Sharma said quoting Venugopal, who made no direct reference to Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss with whom he had a bitter row.

The resident doctors association of the hospital, which has been backing Venugopal in his tussle with Ramadoss, maintained that he would back in office as soon as possible.

“This is a victory of truth. It is a victory of the people of the country. Ramadoss is responsible for the entire fiasco and he should resign,” said Kaushal Kant Mishra, spokesperson for the Resident Doctors Association.

“This judgment of the Supreme Court has clearly sent a message that please don’t interfere with the functioning of the autonomous institutions and don’t tinker with the intellectuals who have given their life to build up these institutions,” said Mahendra Singh, Venugopal`s lawyer.

AIIMS Faculty Association president Dr Vinod Khaitan said Venugopal has become the symbol of the dignity of the medical fraternity and demanded the resignation of Ramadoss.

“It is very rarely that a parliament act is struck down by the Supreme Court. And he (Ramadoss) wanted to remove one person who became the symbol of autonomy of AIIMS, Dr Venugopal,” Khaitan said.

“It is not becoming of the Health Minister, so he must resign,” he said.

Former union health minister Sushma Swaraj is also asking Ramadoss to resign from his post following the verdict.

On the other side Ramadoss was shocked with the unexpected verdict. He said that there is no question of his resigning over the SC verdict.

Tags: AIIMS, Minister, Ramadoss, SC, Supremem Court, Venugopal

Former Union health minister Sushma Swaraj demanded that Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss should resign from his post after the apex court’s observations against the minister. Sushma Swaraj was upset with the manner Ramadoss used Parliament to get rid of Dr P Venugopal as director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

“This is not just a defeat for Dr Ramadoss, but also for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government. We demand that Ramadoss resign as health minister, but in case he does not do that then Dr Singh should drop him from the Cabinet,” Swaraj told journalists at a hurriedly organized press conference in New Delhi.

Dr Venugopal today reinstating his position in AIIMS after SC gave its verdict in his favour. Justice Tarun Chatterjee and Justice H S Bedi upheld the appeal of Dr Venugopal against the new law seeking his removal.

“The court has struck down only this proviso, while bringing down the age of the director to 65 has not been touched,” she said.

Moreover Swaraj critised that Ramadoss picked on Dr Venugopal and made it his prestige issue to see his exit from AIIMS.

Swaraj charged that Ramadoss would have spent his time as the Union health minister in a better manner had he done something positive to take forward the scheme announced by her to have six more AIIMS in different parts of the country.

Tags: Manmohan Singh, Minister, Ramadoss, Sushma Swaraj, Venugopal