From 2007 to 2022, a shadow regime of bureaucrats functioned at the helm of the National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs), making critical decisions worth thousands of crores, without legal sanction under the very law that governs these Institutes of National Importance. The NIPER Act, 1998, did not empower them, yet they controlled the system through extra-legal committees, ignored parliamentary mandates, and sidelined statutory boards. It is a saga of silent subversion, bureaucratic overreach, and regulatory capture.
NIPERs: Institutes Without Coordination or Uniformity
The Government of India set up seven NIPERs in Mohali (S.A.S. Nagar), Ahmedabad, Hajipur, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kolkata, and Raebareli. Despite being institutions of national importance, they operated in silos with no coordination. Even fundamental rules, such as appointments, lacked uniformity. For instance, NIPER Mohali appointed Mr. P.J.P. Singh Waraich as Registrar permanently, flouting the convention of appointing registrars on five-year tenures followed in the other six institutes.
To address this disarray, the Department of Pharmaceuticals established an Apex Council—an administrative mechanism that claimed overarching powers across all NIPERs. In practice, however, this Council became an unelected super-body dominated by bureaucrats, taking over the statutory powers of the Boards of Governors (BoGs) of the institutes. The issue? The Apex Council had no legal standing under the NIPER Act, 1998. There was neither any amendment to the Act nor any parliamentary sanction to create such a body.
A Fake Council With Real Power
Through a notification dated May 7, 2019, an Apex Council was constituted to “deal with common policy and coordination issues” among NIPERs. It comprised:
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Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals (Chairman)
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Chairpersons of BoGs of all NIPERs (Members)
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AS&FA, Department of Pharmaceuticals (Member)
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Joint Secretary (NIPER), DoP (Member and Convener)
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Directors of NIPERs (Invitees as needed)
This “Apex Council,” despite being illegal, made pivotal decisions, ranging from director appointments to sanctioning multi-crore grants. Dr. Raghuram Rao Akkinepally challenged this formation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court through Writ Petition (CWP-21422 of 2022), asserting that the Council could not legally function without amending the NIPER Act.
A Precedent of Illegality: Steering Committee from 2007–2019
The Apex Council wasn’t the first illegal construct. A Steering Committee had operated from August 2007 to March 2019 without any legal backing. Set up based on a Cabinet decision (not parliamentary legislation), this Steering Committee functioned under the Chairmanship of the Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, ostensibly to oversee new NIPERs until their BoGs were constituted.
In reality, this Steering Committee exercised statutory powers, including appointing directors—a function reserved for properly constituted BoGs under the NIPER Act. Even after the formation of BoGs, this illegal setup lingered until March 2019.
The Bureaucratic Coup: Rajneesh Tingal and V.M. Katoch
At the heart of this bureaucratic overreach were two key players: Mr. Rajneesh Tingal, Joint Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, and Dr. V.M. Katoch, then Chairman of the Board. Together, they exercised unchecked authority over all NIPERs.
Despite a High Court directive in CWP-30037 of 2017 that called for amending the NIPER Act due to the non-inclusion of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the BoGs, neither Tingal nor Katoch complied. Records show that Mr. Tingal’s predecessor had requested MP nominations from the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Secretariats—an action Tingal conspicuously ignored.
Toward the end of his tenure, Tingal attempted a cover-up by hastily including MPs in the Apex Council—an illegal body—to create the illusion that it was superior to BoGs. It was an exercise in optics to deflect from his defiance of parliamentary oversight.
Misleading the Parliament
The 23rd Report (2020–21) of the Standing Committee on Chemicals & Fertilizers (17th Lok Sabha) reveals how officials from the Department of Pharmaceuticals misled Parliament. They failed to disclose:
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The illegal downsizing of BoGs from 23 to 12 members
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That many BoG members consistently skipped meetings
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Those meetings under Dr. Katoch routinely lacked a quorum
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That non-members attended and even participated in decisions
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That MPs were never included despite a legal requirement
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That crucial decision, including director removals, were made by just 5-6 people
In one glaring example, Dr. Anil Gupta of IIM-Ahmedabad attended a BoG meeting for a few minutes and left midway—yet the meeting continued and decisions were taken.
The Department also misrepresented the High Court’s position on whether MPs’ inclusion constituted an “office of profit.” The court had left the matter open, but the Department falsely portrayed it as resolved in its favor.
Finally, a Legal Apex Council—Too Late
It was only after sustained legal pressure that the Department of Pharmaceuticals issued the NIPER (Council) Rules, 2022 on June 1, 2022. A properly constituted NIPER Council came into being on September 26, 2022. On November 2, 2022, the BoGs of all seven NIPERs were formally reconstituted with the approval of the Chairman of the NIPER Council and the Visitor—this time through an actual amendment of the NIPER Act.
This legal Apex Council, headed by the Union Minister, finally replaced the fake bureaucratic setup. But the question remains: What about all the decisions taken during the 15 years of illegality?
The Core Question: Who Answered to Whom?
During the unauthorized reign of the Apex Council and the Steering Committee, bureaucrats, particularly Mr. Tingal, wielded powers that legally belonged to the Union Minister, BoGs, and Parliament. They:
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Appointed directors
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Controlled investment of public funds
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Approved grants worth thousands of crores
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Reshaped NIPERs’ administration and structure
All without a single clause in the law allowing it.
Why did Mr. Tingal avoid coordinating with the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs for including MPs? Was it to preserve unchallenged control with Dr. Katoch and Mr. Waraich? Without legal accountability, they manipulated the institutional architecture of NIPERs and misled the Parliament, the Judiciary, and the public.
Conclusion: A Deep Rot at the Core
The long-standing illegal control of NIPERs by bureaucrats reveals a systemic failure. The NIPER Act, 1998, was consistently bypassed, the Parliament was misled, and legal processes were treated as inconveniences. The belated formation of a legitimate NIPER Council in 2022 is welcome, but it raises urgent questions:
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What is the legitimacy of decisions made between 2007 and 2022?
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Should bureaucrats who usurped powers be held accountable?
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Will Parliament scrutinize the functioning of these institutes retroactively?
Until these questions are answered, the institutional sanctity of NIPERs remains compromised—and with it, the very idea of lawful governance in India’s premier academic institutions.
