Not following orders: Contempt of court notice issued to LRH, HMC members

On Jan 28, PHC stopped health dept from dissolving PGMI

PESHAWAR: A divisional bench of Peshawar High Court issued contempt of court notices on Monday to Lady Reading Hospital Board of Governors chairperson, Hayatabad Medical Complex medical directors and others for failing to comply with court orders.

The contempt of court notice was issued by the bench of justices Irshad Qaiser and Syed Afsar Shah on a petition filed by Pakistan Medical Association through its counsel Mian Mohibullah Kakakhel.

Kakakhel said PHC stayed the dissolution of Post Graduate Medical Institution and later ordered a status quo on the same.

He stated despite the court order, the LRH BoG chairperson visited the PGMI building and apportioned some parts for administrative purposes.

He said HMC Hospital Director Dr Shahzad Akbar Khan passed an order to allocate part of the building for administrative purposes, thus interfering with PGMI affairs.

He added Dr Muzaffaruddin Sadiq, one of the respondents, processed the promotion cases of some doctors and mentioned himself as the dean of PGMI. However, he was never appointed to that position.

He claimed to have been appointed as acting dean; a post that did not exist under the MTI act. “He is also charged in a corruption case worth millions and an FIR has been registered by the Anti-Corruption Department Peshawar,” he stated.

Calling the interference a violation of the PHC order to maintain a status quo, he requested the bench to issue a contempt of court order. The bench, after hearing the arguments, issued a contempt of court notice to six respondents and sought their replies.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2016.