09-06-2006, 12:46 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>OoPs! Ramadoss plea may not stand legal test </b>
Pioneer.com
Abraham Thomas | New Delhi
The main thrust of Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss' defence before the Election Commission on a disqualification petition for holding an office of profit as president of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) governing body may not stand the legal test.
In his reply to the Election Commission, Ramadoss asserted that a Member of Parliament is exempted from disqualification if he is a member or Chairman of a University.
Ramadoss argued that this clause, contained in Section 3(f) of Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, applied to his being the president of the premier institute. Since AIIMS is an institute entitled to grant medical degrees under a Central Act, he argued that, it (AIIMS) could be described as a University under the University Grants Commission Act.
But this defence may not hold any water in the light of an apex decision, which has held that AIIMS cannot be called a university under the UGC Act.
The confusion over whether AIIMS could be called a university was raised before the Supreme Court in 1996. The challenge was laid to a specific provision, Section 3(d) to be specific, of The Dentist Act, 1948 that refused to recognise the university status of AIIMS. Citing this ground the Dental Council of India (DCI) terminated the membership of one Hari Prakash, who was a nominee of AIIMS to the council. Prakash got relief from the High Court and this order was challenged by the DCI before the Supreme Court.
The Bench passed its decision on August 29, 2001 which said, "It is held AIIMS cannot send representatives to DCI on basis of Section 3(d) as it is not a 'University established by law' in any state/union territory. Further AIIMS does not get automatically converted into such University merely because it has been empowered under AIIMS Act to confer degrees and diplomas."
This decision by the apex court gave clarity to the definition of a deemed university under the UGC Act. Since the Act provided for "an institution empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer or grant degrees" to be deemed as a university, AIIMS had sought the same status since the provisions of AIIMS Act gave the institute powers to grant degrees.
It may be recalled that AIIMS Act was constituted with the purpose of distancing political influence to maintain the administrative autonomy of the institute. Meanwhile, two separate petitions are pending against Ramadoss seeking his disqualification on similar grounds before the Election Commission and the Delhi High Court. The decision in both instances is awaited.
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Pioneer.com
Abraham Thomas | New Delhi
The main thrust of Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss' defence before the Election Commission on a disqualification petition for holding an office of profit as president of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) governing body may not stand the legal test.
In his reply to the Election Commission, Ramadoss asserted that a Member of Parliament is exempted from disqualification if he is a member or Chairman of a University.
Ramadoss argued that this clause, contained in Section 3(f) of Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, applied to his being the president of the premier institute. Since AIIMS is an institute entitled to grant medical degrees under a Central Act, he argued that, it (AIIMS) could be described as a University under the University Grants Commission Act.
But this defence may not hold any water in the light of an apex decision, which has held that AIIMS cannot be called a university under the UGC Act.
The confusion over whether AIIMS could be called a university was raised before the Supreme Court in 1996. The challenge was laid to a specific provision, Section 3(d) to be specific, of The Dentist Act, 1948 that refused to recognise the university status of AIIMS. Citing this ground the Dental Council of India (DCI) terminated the membership of one Hari Prakash, who was a nominee of AIIMS to the council. Prakash got relief from the High Court and this order was challenged by the DCI before the Supreme Court.
The Bench passed its decision on August 29, 2001 which said, "It is held AIIMS cannot send representatives to DCI on basis of Section 3(d) as it is not a 'University established by law' in any state/union territory. Further AIIMS does not get automatically converted into such University merely because it has been empowered under AIIMS Act to confer degrees and diplomas."
This decision by the apex court gave clarity to the definition of a deemed university under the UGC Act. Since the Act provided for "an institution empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer or grant degrees" to be deemed as a university, AIIMS had sought the same status since the provisions of AIIMS Act gave the institute powers to grant degrees.
It may be recalled that AIIMS Act was constituted with the purpose of distancing political influence to maintain the administrative autonomy of the institute. Meanwhile, two separate petitions are pending against Ramadoss seeking his disqualification on similar grounds before the Election Commission and the Delhi High Court. The decision in both instances is awaited.
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