A recurring issue in the governance of NIPER was the failure to meet quorum requirements in most Board of Governors (BoG) meetings held under Dr. V. M. Katoch. Dr. Raghuram Rao Akkinepally repeatedly pointed out these irregularities, highlighting glaring anomalies in the process.
The 74th and 76th Board meetings included discussions on Dr. Rao’s joining but failed to adhere to the NIPER Act, 1998. The Act prescribes a Board strength of 23 members, with a quorum requirement of one-third (i.e., at least eight members). Clause 4(3)(o) of the Act mandates the inclusion of three Members of Parliament (MPs)—two from Lok Sabha (nominated by the Speaker) and one from Rajya Sabha (nominated by the Chairman).
The Punjab and Haryana High Court addressed these irregularities in its judgment on January 10, 2019 (CWP-30037 of 2017). In Para 5, the counsel for the Union of India admitted to procedural irregularities:
“At the most, he contends, that it is a procedural irregularity which can be cured in the due course of time.”
In Para 10, the court directed the Union of India to correct this irregularity by either inducting MPs or amending Clause 4(3)(o) of the NIPER Act. The judgment stated:
“Respondent No. 1 is directed to take appropriate steps to correct the irregularity by induction of Members of Parliament, in due course, as per sub-section 4(3)(o) of the Act. Alternatively, appropriate steps be taken to make the office of a BoG member a non-profitable office so that it aligns with Article 102 of the Constitution of India, allowing new members to be inducted.”
Despite this, the Department of Pharmaceuticals, led by Joint Secretary Mr. Rajneesh Tingal, claimed that including MPs would constitute an “Office of Profit,” contradicting common practice. Several higher education institutions in India, such as AIIMS, have MPs as board members. At AIIMS, New Delhi, during that time, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, served as President, with MPs like Shri Ramesh Bidhuri, Shri Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, and Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav on the board. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat (2016-17) listed numerous such institutions where MPs were board members, further disproving Mr. Tingal’s stance.
The attendance records for the 74th and 76th BoG meetings reveal critical deficiencies:
| BoG Meeting | 74th (Dec 20, 2018) | 76th (July 11, 2019) |
| Dr. V. M. Katoch (Chairman) | Yes | Yes |
| Prof. Anil K. Gupta (IIM Ahmedabad) | Yes | Yes |
| Prof. Rama Shankar Verma | Yes | Yes |
| Dr. Alok Prakash Mittal (AICTE, tenure expired April 21, 2019) | – | Yes |
| Ms. Alka Tiwari | – | Yes |
| Dr. M. R. Doreswamy | Yes | – |
| Mr. Rajneesh Tingal | Yes | Yes |
| Mr. H. D. Sekhri (Representative) | – | Yes |
| Prof. Raghuram Rao Akkinepally (Director) | Yes | Yes |
| Total Attendees | 6 | 6 |
| Dr. Rao Excluded from Key Decisions | 5 | 5 |
| Required Quorum (8 Members) | Not Met | Not Met |
With only six attendees—and Dr. Rao excluded from most decisions—the effective number of participating members dropped to five. Since the NIPER Act mandates at least eight members for quorum, the proceedings of both meetings should have been declared null and void.
Further violations included:
- Unauthorized Representation: The NIPER Act stipulates that only Board members can attend meetings. Yet, in the 76th BoG meeting, Mr. H. D. Sekhri attended as a representative of the Secretary, Technical Education, Punjab, violating the Act.
- Expired Tenure Participation: Dr. Alok Prakash Mittal attended the 76th meeting despite his AICTE tenure ending on April 21, 2019—raising concerns about whose interests he was serving.
- Irregular Presence of Registrar: The Registrar (or Officiating Registrar) serves as Secretary to the Board but is not a Board member under the NIPER Act. His presence does not count toward quorum.
From the outset of the BoG tenure (notified on October 3, 2016, and ending on October 2, 2019), critical positions remained vacant:
- Three MPs were never inducted into the Board.
- Senior Industry Representatives Resigned Early: Dr. Sudhir Mehta (Torrent Pharmaceuticals) and Shri Satish Reddy (Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories) resigned soon after appointment, and no replacements were made. The purpose of having industry representation was completely defeated.
- Improper Nomination of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan: She was not the Director of AIIMS, New Delhi, or PGIMER, Chandigarh—yet she was offered BoG membership. The NIPER Act requires that either the Director of AIIMS or PGIMER be nominated, but this was ignored.
- Failure to Appoint AIIMS or PGIMER Director: Clause 4(3)(i) of the NIPER Act mandates that the Director of AIIMS or PGIMER be nominated by rotation, but this was never implemented throughout the Board’s tenure.
Due to these violations, Dr. Katoch refrained from making BoG meeting minutes public. Unlike other institutions, NIPER has failed to publish minutes of these meetings on its website. If everything was conducted fairly, what was there to hide?
Dr. Rao made repeated attempts to bring transparency but faced resistance from Mr. Tingal and Dr. Katoch, who overruled concerns through an authoritarian approach.
The governance of NIPER under Dr. Katoch was marred by procedural violations, lack of quorum, unauthorized participation, and a failure to maintain transparency. The failure to induct MPs, the neglect of industry representation, and the exclusion of a legally mandated AIIMS/PGIMER Director further undermined the legitimacy of the Board’s decisions. These lapses demand accountability and corrective measures to uphold the integrity of NIPER’s governing framework.
