HC asks Telangana ​government to appoint medical professional as Vaidya Parishad chief

In a setback to the state government, the High Court on Thursday set aside the GO 604 issued on October 31, 2018 appointing IAS officer K Manicka Raj as commissioner of Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad.

The Court directed the government to appoint a person who was a member of medical profession as the commissioner instead of an IAS officer and to complete the appointment process within two weeks.

Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili was passing this order in a petition filed by Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association, represented by its president Dr K Mahesh Kumar, challenging the GO issued by the government appointing an IAS officer to the said post.

Petitioner’s counsel S Sandeep Reddy contended that the government’s decision to appoint an IAS officer to the post of commissioner was in violation of Section 33 (a) of the Vaidya Vidhana Parishad Act. Earlier, Dr B Siva Prasad was the commissioner of Vaidya Vidhana Parishad and after his retirement, the government has issued a GO appointing IAS officer Manicka Raj to the post.

Appointing a person who was not a member of medical profession was against the Act, he argued and urged the court to set aside the impugned GO. Taking these submissions into consideration, the judge has set aside the GO and directed the government to appoint a member of medical profession in the post within two weeks.