I, Dr. Raghuram Rao Akkinepally, shared that on October 19, 2020, I wrote to Ms. S. Aparna, IAS, the then Secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, requesting her to stall the process of hiring six consultants at NIPER Mohali. These appointments were being processed under Dr. SJS Flora, with interviews scheduled for November 10, 2020.
I also stated that Dr. V. M. Katoch, then Chairman of the Board of Governors at NIPER Mohali, had not permitted me to hire any consultants—despite a detailed note submitted to him and the Board of Governors. After Dr. Katoch’s tenure as Chairman ended and I was removed from my position, there was no change in circumstances or workload. Nevertheless, Dr. SJS Flora, who was holding only a temporary (additional) charge as Director, issued an advertisement to hire six consultants—not just one or two. It is worth noting that Dr. SJS Flora had previously been declared ineligible for the position of Director at NIPER Mohali.
I mentioned that the Board of Governors, under the leadership of Dr. V. M. Katoch, had raised several questions regarding the hiring of consultants:
- Why is a consultant required?
- When work is already being completed, what is the need to hire a consultant?
- Why were consultants not hired during the few months prior?
- How are the consultants going to be paid?
- What will be the total expenditure?
- What will be the annual financial outflow for hiring these consultants?
I emphasized that the situation had not changed in the six months following my removal. Despite this, six consultants were being hired by someone holding only a temporary charge. At that time, the charge of Officiating Registrar was given to Mr. Jitender Kumar Chandel, who had previously been suspended by me for various acts of omission and commission. Without conducting any inquiry, Mr. Chandel was reinstated and given the charge of Officiating Registrar. In his name, the advertisement for hiring six consultants was issued.
I also informed the Secretary that the minutes of the 77th meeting of the Board of Governors, held on September 16, 2019, had not cleared the appointment of consultants. Mr. Rajneesh Tingal, a member of the Board, was well aware of this fact. The topic of hiring consultants had not even been discussed as an agenda item during that meeting, which had instead focused on the proposed removal of me as Director.
I further clarified that, at the time, the Board of Governors was not functional, and Dr. SJS Flora—despite being declared ineligible—was allowed to proceed with appointments. In contrast, I, a regular Director with seven years of service, had not been permitted to hire even one consultant. I raised concerns that, under such circumstances, there was a real risk of fake or unqualified appointments being made. It was surprising that Dr. SJS Flora—despite being close to retirement in March 2021—was still being allowed to make multiple appointments at both NIPER Mohali and NIPER Raebareli.
In fact, I warned the Secretary that allowing such appointments would set a dangerous precedent, especially considering that Dr. V. M. Katoch and the same Board of Governors had previously declared Dr. SJS Flora ineligible for the role of Director back in 2013.
I also explained the composition of the Selection Committees for the engagement of consultants at NIPER. The Director (or his nominee) serves as Chairman, with the Dean and the concerned Head of Department/In-charge as members. Two outside experts nominated by the Director are also included, and in the case of administrative posts, the Registrar is a member. Since audit functions fall under the Registrar, the Registrar’s role has been instrumental in many past consultant appointments.
I further informed the Secretary about the non-extension of tenure for another consultant, Mr. Surinder Singh, who had been working as the Internal Audit Consultant (IAC). I conveyed that Mr. Singh acted less as an independent audit consultant and more as an appointee of Mr. PJP Singh Waraich. Mr. Singh would often act on the instructions of Mr. Waraich, who had been suspended by me. Eventually, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the termination of Mr. Waraich’s services.
Mr. Singh had originally been hired when Mr. Waraich was the Registrar. I observed that Mr. Singh continued in his role for several years without any performance evaluation. He was known to stall files and raise objections in ways that seemed to serve Mr. Waraich’s interests.
Based on a committee’s recommendation, Mr. Singh’s tenure was not extended. In retaliation, Mr. Singh filed a complaint against me. The complaint was directly linked to the non-extension of his tenure. It is worth noting that the complaint coincided with the suspension of Mr. Waraich and the end of Mr. Singh’s tenure, indicating a coordinated effort to target me.
