Govt to move SC against WBUHS V-C appointment

The West Bengal University of Health Sciences has decided to move the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court's decision to appoint Dr Amit Banerjee as vice-chancellor of the varsity.

The Left Front government had appointed Banerjee as V-C in 2011, after P K Deb retired from the post in November 2010.

Manoj Ghosh, registrar of WBUHS, said the state government will soon appeal the High Court's order rejecting the government's rejection of Dr Banerjee's appointment in WBUHS, which is functioning without a V-C for the past two years.

Dr Banerjee was appointed by the Left Front government on February 1, 2011, but joined the varsity in June 2011 after being released from GB Pant Hospital in New Delhi. The next day, the registrar of WBUHS emailed Banerjee saying his appointment had been rejected and he would not be allowed to function as V-C.

Challenging this, Dr Banerjee had moved the high court, but a single judge rejected his petition on the ground that he had suppressed two letters written by him to his parent hospital in order to secure his release. Banerjee then appealed to a two-judge bench, which gave its decision on Thursday.

When contacted, Dr Banerjee said, "I have been fighting for this case for the last two years. If the state government goes to Supreme Court, then I will also have to appeal to the Supreme Court again."

Dr Banerjee, whose appointment was cancelled by the governor, has claimed that the grounds on which he was removed are baseless and that he was never officially informed about the actual reason that led to his removal.

Although WBUHS authorities claimed that the newly-appointed V-C did not join duties within the stipulated time frame, Dr Banerjee said he was never officially informed that he had to join by June 15, 2011. He said he could not join as V-C before June 30 because he was not released from his earlier assignment as director of GB Pant Hospital in Delhi by the Centre.

ALSO READ

Saradha scam: Debjani Mukherjee denies intimate relation with Sudipta Sen

Chit fund scam: Mamata govt against handing over Saradha probe to CBI

Its credibility at stake, Rose Valley struck KKR deal for brand-building last year

Sachin Tendulkar turns 40 today but his routine remains the same