In a long-running dispute at AIIMS, several senior doctors who had earned promotion to professor through an internal assessment scheme felt they deserved higher seniority than doctors hired directly into the same posts from outside. The Central Administrative Tribunal ruled against them, prompting the promoted professors to approach the Delhi High Court. During an earlier hearing the court had refused to stay the tribunal’s order and had given AIIMS time till the end of 2014 to implement it. Believing that one of the judges had already made up his mind against them, two groups of petitioners asked the bench, especially Justice S Ravindra Bhat, to step aside and not hear the case further.
The High Court rejected the request for recusal. It explained that a judge’s preliminary view given while deciding an interim application does not amount to final bias or prejudging the whole dispute, and that every litigant must expect such views during early hearings. The court added that judges are trained to keep an open mind, the second judge on the bench had an equal say, and not all petitioners even supported the recusal plea. Finding the apprehension unreasonable, the bench ruled it would go ahead and hear the main petitions on merits as scheduled.
Title: ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES Vs PROF. KAUSHAL K. VERMA AND ORS and connected writ petitions, Order date: 05.05.2015, Case Number: W.P.(C) 4103/2014, W.P.(C) 4228/2014, W.P.(C) 4245/2014 & W.P.(C) 7166/2014, Neutral Citation: 2015:DHC:4005-DB, Name of court: High Court of Delhi at New Delhi, Judge: Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice R.K. Gauba.
Disclaimer: Donot treat this as substitute for legal advise as it may contain subjective errors.
Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi
