Health minister gets notice on graft at AIIMS
PROBE Court seeks response from CBI, AIIMS and other agencies within four weeks
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to union health minister JP Nadda on a PIL seeking a CBI inquiry into all such cases of alleged irregularities and corruption in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which had been raised by former antigraft officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice RS Endlaw also sought responses from the Health Ministry, AIIMS, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Chaturvedi, seeking their response within four weeks.
The HC has fixed April 22 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
The HC order came on a PIL filed by NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) which sought investigation of all cases in which action were initiated by Chaturvedi, before he was sacked by then Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in August last year from his post as AIIMS’ Chief Vigilance Officer.
The PIL was filed about a week after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter to the Centre requesting it to immediately relieve Chaturvedi, who is now deputy secretary at AIIMS, to head the Delhi anti-corruption bureau.
During his two-year tenure as the anti-graft officer at AIIMS, Chaturvedi had launched investigations into many cases of corruption and malpractices in which officials were charged and penalised.
When he was removed from his post, Chaturvedi was looking into several other corruption cases relating to “supply of dubious medicines by a private chemist shop having influential political connections, role of middlemen in making fake out patient department (OPD) cards, wastage in purchase of surgery equipments and other medical items…”
The PIL filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, also a member of Aam Aadmi Part (AAP), has sought direction to the union health minister JP Nadda to recuse himself from all cases and acting as disciplinary authority alleging that he had “unfettered powers to influence the course of proceedings in all the corruption cases.” NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response from the Centre and Delhi government on the steps taken so far to deal with swine flu, while hearing a PIL seeking directions to make tests available at an affordable cost.
A division bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice RS Endlaw issued a notice to the union health minister, city’s health ministry, civic bodies and the lieutenant governor and sought their response by March 4.
“File response explaining the steps you have taken on the issue,” said the bench.
The PIL filed through advocate Gaurav Bahl said the government should provide more laboratories in the city for testing swine flu and it should be available at an affordable cost.
“Government should establish multiple testing laboratories and that should be available at an affordable cost. Now, the cost of the test is R4,500. It has to be reduced,” argued Bahl.
Currently, the government has only three laboratories in Delhi for testing swine flu, he told the court.
“At present the approved laboratories for testing and confirming the disease are limited and offered at places where the laboratories are charging exorbitantly,” said Bahl, adding, “The government is immediately required to open various testing laboratories where the citizens of Delhi can be tested for the flu at a cheaper rate and affordable prices.”