Delhi HC issues notice on a plea challenging appointment of DG of MP- IDSA

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice on a petition challenging 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.

The plea alleged that the appointment of the present DG, MP-IDSA is contrary to the guidelines of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the rules of the society, without any advertisement or any selection process.

The bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh on Thursday sought the response of MP-IDSA, Sujan R. Chinoy (DG, MP-IDSA) and Director Appointments Committee of the Cabinet and listed the matter for November 29, 2021, for further hearing.

The Petitioner Advocate Subash Chandran KR 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 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 2.1.2019 informed that the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has appointed Sujan R Chinoy as Director-General of MP-IDSA, w.e.f. 03.01.2019, the petition read.

The 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 postgraduate / 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, plea read.

( With inputs from ANI )