Dr. V. M. Katoch, who once served as Secretary of the Department of Health Research and Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), was known for preaching the importance of institutional discipline and employee welfare. But when it came to practicing those lofty principles, his record at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali), tells a very different story.
At the 71st meeting of the Board of Governors (BoG) in September, with Dr. Katoch in the chair, the discussion turned to student fellowships and delays in issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs). In front of the members, Dr. Katoch put on the mantle of a reformer. He declared that such “petty issues,” if not handled sensitively, could snowball into discontent among employees and students. He reminded everyone that it was the Director’s responsibility to ensure quick redressal, while the BoG’s role was limited to broad oversight.
It sounded noble, and the Board readily endorsed the sermon. The minutes of the meeting faithfully recorded the advice.
The Registrar added nuance, explaining that most applications were processed promptly, but delays sometimes arose due to ministry approvals or employees applying at the last minute. Even so, the Board instructed that systems must be tightened through Standard Operating Procedures, a grievance box in the Director’s office, and dedicated weekly grievance-hearing hours with the Director.
On paper, it looked like Dr. Katoch had delivered a masterclass in empathetic leadership.
But here lies the hypocrisy. The same BoG, under Dr. Katoch and Mr. Rajneesh Tingal, disbanded the Rapid Grievance Redressal Committee (RGRC)—a body created specifically to handle such concerns swiftly and fairly. When the RGRC exposed serious injustices against employees, Dr. Katoch’s tolerance for “grievance redressal” evaporated. Suddenly, he was no longer the champion of fairness he had claimed to be.
The silence of other members, including Dr. Anil Gupta of IIM Ahmedabad, was telling. Later, it emerged that Gupta and Katoch had known each other from past associations—explaining perhaps why Gupta never objected to such arbitrary decisions.
Dr. Katoch’s track record with employees hardly matches his lofty rhetoric. Before my tenure, he was instrumental in the exit of several staff members—Dr. Nilanjan Roy, Dr. Parikshit Bansal, Dr. Neeraj Kumar, Capt. Kshitij Sharma and Mr. Sanjeev Taggar. Employee welfare was hardly a concern at the time. Expediency, not empathy, seemed to guide his actions.
When the RGRC later heard employee cases and highlighted glaring injustices, Dr. Katoch resisted my efforts to undo the damage. Preaching empathy in the BoG while blocking it in practice—that was his style of leadership.
For someone who once led India’s premier health research institution, such contradictions are not just disappointing—they are damaging. A leader who says one thing and does another corrodes trust at the very heart of an institution.
Dr. Katoch liked to posture as the voice of reason and reform, but his tenure at NIPER reveals the truth: his words were for public consumption, his actions for personal convenience. The result was not reform, but cynicism.
In the end, his legacy at NIPER stands as a textbook case of leadership without integrity: a preacher of empathy who practiced apathy.
