After the removal of Dr. Raghuram Rao Akkinepally, Dr. SJS Flora was appointed as the Director (Additional Charge) of NIPER Mohali. Despite being deemed unfit for the post of Director at NIPER Mohali, he was still given charge at NIPER Rae Bareli. Upon taking over, Dr. Flora empowered Mr. Jitender Kumar Chandel to systematically target individuals who had been associated with Dr. Akkinepally.
One of Dr. Flora’s first actions was appointing Mr. Chandel as Officiating Registrar, even though he had previously been suspended by Dr. Akkinepally for various acts of omission and commission. This appointment was a clear indication of an agenda to suppress those aligned with the former director.
The first victim of this campaign was Dr. Arminder Singh Sandhu, who had served as Officiating Registrar during Mr. Chandel’s suspension. Without a show-cause notice, Dr. Sandhu was directly issued a charge sheet just two months before his retirement on April 30. This move was intended to tarnish his reputation and obstruct his pension and other retirement benefits.
The real grudge against Dr. Sandhu stemmed from the fact that Dr. Akkinepally had entrusted him with the responsibility of the Officiating Registrar instead of Mr. Chandel, who was unqualified for the post. Mr. Chandel, a Deputy Registrar (F&A), was also a distant relative of Dr. V. M. Katoch, Chairman of the Board of Governors, both hailing from Himachal Pradesh.
Dr. Sandhu had no independent authority as Officiating Registrar—his role was merely to execute the Director’s directions. Dr. Sandhu was served a charge sheet and an inquiry was conducted after his retirement. The charge sheet appeared to be purely vindictive, considering his service record of over 30 years and the fact that he was nearing retirement while caring for his elderly mother.
Despite serious allegations against Mr. PJP Singh Waraich (current Registrar) and Mr. Chandel, no inquiry was conducted against them. However, an inquiry was initiated against Dr. Sandhu based on frivolous charges. Dr. Flora, who was operating remotely from Rae Bareli due to COVID-19 fears, issued a charge sheet at a time when Dr. Sandhu had no option but to approach the court amidst the pandemic.
A glaring example of the bias was that Dr. Sandhu, as Officiating Registrar, was not allowed to attend Board meetings, yet he was held responsible for non-compliance with Board directives. Furthermore, the Board of Governors’ decisions were already under legal scrutiny in CWP-10065 of 2019. Interestingly, the petitioner, Mr. Inderjit Singh, later withdrew the petition after being exonerated by Dr. Dulal Panda, likely in anticipation of a smooth voluntary retirement.
Mr. Chandel was appointed Officiating Registrar the day after Dr. Flora took charge, raising questions about how Dr. Flora, who was new to NIPER Mohali, so quickly formed an opinion on Mr. Chandel’s capabilities. The fact that he had been previously suspended and charge-sheeted seemed to be overlooked.
Dr. Flora targeted Dr. Sandhu for another significant reason—emails retrieved from Mr. Waraich’s laptop, which owned Dr. Akkinepally. These emails exposed widespread corruption involving Department of Pharmaceuticals officials, questionable links between Dr. Flora and Mr. Waraich, and an unauthorized cake business run by Waraich’s family on NIPER premises with involvement from multiple employees.
Dr. Flora also reportedly used his influence to obtain certificates from Mr. Waraich for his children’s immigration to Canada before Waraich was suspended and removed as Registrar by Dr. Akkinepally.
Evidence of Mr. Chandel’s collusion with Mr. Waraich was also found in email exchanges where Mr. Chandel allegedly shared confidential information with individuals accused in a CBI FIR before officially submitting the information to the CBI. Additionally, Mr. Chandel was handling financial matters related to Mr. Waraich’s bank accounts, despite holding the position of Deputy Registrar (F&A).
Dr. Sandhu, while serving as Officiating Registrar, permitted the release of payments to lawyers hired to challenge illegal directives issued by Dr. V. M. Katoch. This was later questioned by Mr. Chandel, the Board of Governors, and Dr. Katoch. However, no objections were raised when Dr. Katoch himself approved a payment of ₹8,80,000 to a well-known lawyer in Chandigarh.
The inquiry against Dr. Sandhu even included issues that were already under consideration by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Board of Governors, which questioned Dr. Sandhu’s actions, was itself under legal scrutiny, with its decisions being challenged in court. The quorum for Board meetings was frequently disregarded, and the Department of Pharmaceuticals’ representative, Mr. Rajneesh Tingal, appeared complicit in the entire episode.
Despite the High Court ruling against any recovery of salary from ex-Security and Estate Officer Mr. Kshitij Sharma, this was still included in the charges against Dr. Sandhu, showing utter disregard for the judiciary.
Dr. Sandhu was accused of providing misleading information, yet all his submissions had the consent of NIPER Mohali’s legal counsel. The biased Inquiry Officer nonetheless found him guilty, leading to the Board of Governors imposing a penalty of ₹6,50,000 and deducting 10% from his monthly pension.
Faced with this injustice, Dr. Sandhu sought relief from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where both the Single Bench and Division Bench ruled in his favor. This raises the question—should employees be forced to approach the High Court just to receive their rightful pension after 30 years of service? Is there no accountability for individuals like Dr. Flora and Mr. Chandel, who misuse their authority to harass employees at the twilight of their careers?
The situation at NIPER Mohali remains dire. On February 16, 2025, The Tribune reported that the Institute celebrated its Foundation Day, but with notable dissent:
- Non-teaching staff boycotted the event.
- Members of the NIPER Staff Welfare Association abstained in protest against Director Prof. Dulal Panda.
This unfortunate state of affairs highlights the continued dysfunction at NIPER Mohali, where vendettas and power struggles overshadow the institution’s academic and research goals.
