Delhi HC dismisses plea challenging appointment of DG of MP- IDSA

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a challenging petition for the appointment of the Director General (DG) of Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), the premier research institute in the country in the field of Defence research and analyses.

While rejecting the plea, the bench headed by Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad noted that the matter is related to a service matter which can't be raised in the form of Public Interest Litigation.

The plea alleged that the appointment of the present DG, MP-IDSA is contrary to the guidelines of DoP&T and the rules of the society, without any advertisement or any selection process.

Earlier the Court had sought the response of all respondents including MP-IDSA, Sujan R. Chinoy (DG, MP-IDSA) and the Director Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

The Petitioner Advocate Subash Chandran KR earlier stated that the very appointment of the top executive of the leading think tank in our Defence Sector is being questioned for the trade of qualification, impropriety, malafides in the selection process and the issue concerns the security of the nation and the nation at large is the beneficiary, plea stated.

The plea also stated that the present Director General Sujan R. Chinoy retired from the Indian Foreign Service on December 31, 2018, and after one day, the Press Information Bureau in its press release dated January 2, 2019, informed that the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has appointed Sujan R Chinoy as Director General of MP-IDSA, w.e.f. January 3, 2019, the petition read.

Petition also submitted that the proceedings of a prominent subject expert in the Selection Committee is a primary requirement since the incumbent has to preside over the work of over 640 post-graduate/doctorate scholars who are thorough subject experts in the field of Defence Studies and Analyses and the incumbent Director General has to guide them and assess their work and has to be himself a doyen in the field of defence research and analyses.

The said appointment of Sujan R Chinoy as DG is a violation of all norms as laid down in the DoP&T Circular dated 3.7.06 as well as clause 13 of the Memorandum of Association of the MP-IDSA, the plea read.

( With inputs from ANI )

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