Delhi High Court to hear PIL on corruption cases in AIIMS

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On Tuesday Delhi High Court hoping to push forward investigation in various corruption cases at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a PIL will be heard. Filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, represented by senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, the PIL takes into account a number of corruption cases unearthed by the previous Central Vigilance Officer, IFS officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi during his tenure from 2012 to 2014.
Magsaysay award winner and whistle-blower, Chaturvedi, mentioned by name as a respondent in the PIL, as is union health minister JP Nadda, uncovered cases involving “malpractices including supply of dubious medicines by a private chemist shop, having influential political nexus, and opened into institute premises, middlemen in making out patient department (OPD) cards, irregularities and wastage in purchase of surgery equipments and other medical items, use of fake proprietary certificates in purchases”, among other things, as the petition states. These involve “senior functionaries” of the institute.

The petition further says that Nadda, as an MP before he became the health minister, “actively participated” in a “determined campaign” to dismantle this vigilance administration
The petition, which will be up for its first hearing, asks for “expeditious investigation of corruption cases by the CBI as well as of the disciplinary proceedings in the cases”, it asks Nadda to recuse himself from any role of disciplinary authority/appellate authority, as he had demanded to withhold proceedings.
One such case, as mentioned in the affidavit submitted by Chaturvedi to the court, alleges criminal misconduct on the part of an Assistant Store Officer, TR Mahajan, and Associate Professor Amit Gupta, for purchasing “trivial” items such as disinfectants and fogging solutions from a firm owned by Mahajan’s son and daughter in law, by “falsely declaring them as proprietary in nature, which allowed them to bypass GFR Provisions. In accordance with these provisions, a set of financial rules that pertain to tender procedures, the main hospital was purchasing the same items through substantially lower rates without calling them proprietary, which means an item that is exclusively owned by a private individual or corporation.
A year after Chaturvedi’s report , the CBI submitted its report to the health ministry CVO, upholding his claims that Gupta had signed the proprietary certificate in 2012, which Mahajan used for placing repeat orders without going through a tendering process or asking for a fresh proprietary certificate. Mahajan was later suspended.
The CBI took note of the lapses on part of Gupta, and AIIMS director Dr. MC Mishra, who gave his approval based on the certificate signed by Gupta “without due diligence”.
However, the CBI report leaves out Mahajan’s admission that the firm, M/S Drishti Medicos Surgicals was owned by his son and daughter in law.
Chaturvedi’s report, filed in 2014, called for a criminal case under Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, while in November 2015, the health ministry directed the AIIMS CVO to look into the matter for “action as deemed fit”.
Meanwhile, AIIMS spokesperson Dr Amit Gupta has said, “AIIMS has a zero-tolerance for corruption. Statutory compliances of CVC guidelines are being ensured. Timely audit of all procurement is being done. A Joint Secretary in the Ministry holds charge of the post of CVO AIIMS.”
He said the Institute has a strong commitment for a transparent and clean administration and that there is considerable seriousness of purpose in tackling corruption cases. “The CVO has not pointed out any procedural lapses in the handling of corruption cases in AIIMS.Dr Gupta said that The Institute has submitted also its replies to the Delhi High Court on the case wise progress in a PIL in this regard,”.