Dr. Vishwa Mohan Katoch served as Chairman of the Board of Governors (BoG) at NIPER Mohali for two separate three-year terms (2011–2014 and 2016–2019), accumulating six years in this influential role. His tenure was marked by micromanagement, favoritism, procedural violations, and suppression of institutional checks and balances.
Dr. Katoch consistently favored Mr. PJP Singh Waraich, shielding him from accountability. He revoked Mr. Waraich’s suspension within 12 hours, overlooked multiple complaints, and ensured his continued tenure despite the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recommending his transfer to a non-sensitive post in 2018. Instead of removing Mr. Waraich, Dr. Katoch allowed him to continue as Registrar, merely restricting his access to CBI-related files—an ineffective measure given his influence over junior staff across multiple departments, including Purchase, Accounts, Stores, Examination, Security, Estate, and Administration.
When Dr. Raghuram Rao Akkinepally, then Director of NIPER Mohali, suspended Mr. Waraich for misconduct, Dr. Katoch acted overnight, drafting a 10-page document to overturn the suspension. His swift intervention contrasted starkly with his habitual inaction regarding complaints against Mr. Waraich and the former Director, Dr. K. K. Bhutani.
During Dr. Katoch’s tenure, faculty members Dr. Nilanjan Roy, Dr. Neeraj Kumar, and Dr. Parikshit Bansal were expelled under pressure from Mr. Waraich and Dr. Bhutani. Appeals to Dr. Katoch, as the Appellate Authority, were ignored or dismissed under shifting justifications. Additionally, Capt. Kshitij Sharma (Security & Estate Officer) and Mr. Sanjeev Taggar (Chief Maintenance Engineer) were removed, while Mr. Waraich remained untouchable.
Dr. Katoch conducted BoG meetings without the required quorum, a violation flagged by BoG member Dr. M. R. Doreswamy, Chancellor of PES University. Despite objections, decisions were pushed through. An employee association filed a case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, citing quorum violations. The court took Dr. Doreswamy’s letter into the record, making BoG decisions subject to judicial review. However, the association later withdrew the case, allegedly under institutional pressure.
Rather than focusing on policy, Dr. Katoch involved himself in day-to-day affairs, even intervening in house allotments while neglecting major concerns like the five-year delay in implementing the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for faculty members.
Repeated calls for transparency by making BoG meeting minutes public were ignored. Dr. Katoch ensured secrecy, likely to avoid scrutiny of his actions and those of his allies, including Mr. Rajneesh Tingal (Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals) and Dr. Anil Gupta (IIM Ahmedabad). Only after his tenure ended were the minutes finally published on the NIPER website.
Despite NIPER Act, 1998 mandating the inclusion of three MPs in the BoG, Dr. Katoch did not advocate for their induction. Investigative reports, including a 2012 article by Dinesh C. Sharma in India Today, highlighted how bureaucrats, including the then Joint Secretary, deliberately excluded MPs by misclassifying BoG membership as an ‘Office of Profit.’ This move prevented oversight and consolidated Dr. Katoch’s control within the BoG. I made one change.
But Tingal did not pursue inclusion of MPs for which his predecessor, Mr. Ariz Ahammed had written to Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha officials. The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in CWP-30037 of 2017, later directed amendments to the NIPER Act or the inclusion of MPs in BoG.
Despite government directives to establish an Alternate Grievance Redressal Mechanism to reduce litigation, Dr. Katoch obstructed the RGRC’s functioning by requiring BoG approval for every case. Under his tenure, litigation among NIPER employees soared. His resistance intensified when Dr. Raghuram Rao Akkinepally’s Rapid Grievance Redressal Committee (RGRC) recommendations. In this too, Dr. Katoch required that every case of RGRC.
Dr. Katoch’s opposition to Dr. Rao reached its peak when the latter suspended Mr. Waraich. In retaliation, Dr. Rao was suspended twice, prompting legal battles where he secured relief from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Despite these victories, Dr. Katoch authorized spending nearly ₹9 lakh on litigation against Dr. Rao, aiming to oust him from his position. Ironically, under Dr. Rao’s leadership, NIPER Mohali achieved the No. 1 ranking in Pharmacy under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).
Dr. V. M. Katoch’s tenure as BoG Chairman at NIPER Mohali was riddled with favoritism, procedural violations, and obstruction of accountability mechanisms. His actions not only protected questionable officials like Mr. Waraich but also undermined institutional governance, faculty rights, and transparency. The systematic suppression of checks and balances during his leadership raises serious concerns about ethical governance at one of India’s premier pharmaceutical institutions.
