As many as 131 support staff have been engaged by the Shah Satnam Ji Specialty Hospitals.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court Friday directed the civil surgeon, Sirsa, to verify the professional and academic qualification of all the doctors, including the visiting consultants and paramedical staff, at the medical institutions run by Dera Sacha Sauda. It also allowed setting up of an ad hoc body for supervising the daily functioning of the institutions.
Civil Surgeon Dr Govind Gupta, in a report, told the full bench of Justices Surya Kant, Augustine George Masih and Avneesh Jhingan that Shah Satnam Singh Development and Research Foundation is running three allopathy, ayurvedic and naturopathy hospitals in the district. There are 19 doctors, six visiting consultants and 76 paramedics at the allopathy institute and four ayurveda doctors at two other institutions, besides four paramedic staff. As many as 131 support staff have been engaged by the Shah Satnam Ji Specialty Hospitals.
Senior Advocate Anupam Gupta told the court that the report is merely a roundup submission and does not mention for how long the doctors have remained posted at the facilities. Following Gupta’s submission, the full bench directed the civil surgeon to verify the qualification of the medical staff. The civil surgeon has also been directed to ascertain their date of joining and ensure that they are paid their salaries from the accounts of the foundation.
The full bench, however, said the ad hoc arrangement will not mean that the court has legitimised the hospital buildings, some of which have been now declared illegal. The civil surgeon has also constituted an eight-member committee to supervise the functioning of the hospitals run by the Dera in Sirsa. The full bench on Friday authorised the committee to run the financial affairs of the institutions.
Meanwhile, the DC, Sirsa, has been authorised to appoint an accounts officer for managing the financial affairs of the educational institutions run by the Dera Sacha Sauda. The court was informed that a governing body of the district-level officers and two principals have been constituted to look after the functioning of the educational institutions.
Dera violence cases
The full bench Friday asked Senior Advocate Gupta, who is an amicus in the Dera violence case, whether the trial of all the criminal cases registered in August 2017 can be placed before a single court. The court noted there could be contradictory orders in different matters of similar nature by the lower courts. Haryana government has been directed by the full bench to supply information related to the progress of the trials.
Meanwhile, Gupta also told the bench that it is “indefensible” and “wrong” that Dera Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has not been nominated as an accused in a case registered for the conspiracy behind August 2017 violence in the region.
Pertinently, besides being represented by a number of senior advocates of the High Court, the Dera chief on Friday also was represented by Advocate Tanveer Ahmad Mir who had won acquittal for Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the Aarushi murder case. Mir is also Gurmeet’s advocate in a castration case.
23 Dera constructions illegal: Govt tells HC
The Haryana government Friday told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that a total of 23 constructions had been declared unauthorised in Dera Sacha Sauda’s revenue village of Shah Satnam Pura and that there had been no progress from the management to bring the buildings in conformity with the law.
In the reports submitted in the HC, the District Town Planner, Sirsa, has said that occupation certificate has not been taken for 11 constructions and also Change of Land Use (CLU) applications have been rejected for 12 buildings.
The constructions now declared illegal include Sach petrol pump, amusement park, biogas-based power plant, sawmill, hospital, Mahila Bhawan, school, hostel, religious buildings, industrial units, farm house and other buildings.