CHENNAI: The union government has promised the Madras High Court to hold an inquiry into complaints of misappropriation of Covid research funds at the National Institute of Siddha in Chennai. The undertaking was given before Justice Anita Sumanth recently by senior panel counsel Kumaraguru on behalf of the Ministry of AYUSH, the chief vigilance officer of the ministry and the Chief Vigilance Commission.
The counsel had assured that necessary action would be taken within 12 weeks for hearing the parties concerned and the petitioner and passing a detailed speaking order on the complaint. “The principles of natural justice shall be adhered to scrupulously,” the judge said in her order, disposing of the petition filed by S Visweswaran, who is a faculty member of the institute.
He had alleged that Dr R Meena Kumari misappropriated Rs 50 lakh earmarked by the ministry for Covid-related research with the connivance of colleagues by making bogus claims on research studies that were not conducted. They allegedly created bogus bills and fabricated records to show as if research were done on an observational proof-of-concept study to evaluate the safety and efficacy in Covid-19 patients treated with selected Siddha formulations, an open-label randomised controlled clinical trial in patients and a randomised controlled clinical trial to determine the complementary effect of Siddha formulations for accelerated recovery, Visweswaran claimed.
Despite submitting complaints on the irregularities, the ministry and its chief vigilance officer had not taken any action, the petitioner alleged and prayed for the court to issue an order to take action within a time frame.