The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed the operation of an order reappointing Dr Suresh Kumar Singhal as director of Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences, commonly known as PGIMS Rohtak, for another three-year term.
Justice Harpreet Singh Brar passed the interim order on October 16 while hearing a writ petition filed by Dr Anil Pannikker in CWP-34726-2026. The petition challenges the Haryana government’s August 13, 2026, order reappointing Singhal.
The court directed the Haryana government to entrust the director’s charge to a suitable person below 65 years of age, in accordance with the applicable rules and statutes. Dr Sujata Shetty is currently holding the charge of director.
Dr Manjunath B C, senior professor-in-charge in the university’s public relations department, said Singhal had been on leave for several days and that Shetty had been assigned the responsibility even before the High Court passed its interim order. The arrangement therefore preceded the court’s direction, according to the university official.
The court has asked the additional chief secretary of Haryana’s department of medical education and research to file an affidavit within two weeks. The affidavit must explain the legal basis for Singhal’s reappointment, the authority under which the prescribed age limit was relaxed and the status of the regular recruitment process.
The order places the appointment process at the centre of the dispute. Rather than only examining who currently holds charge, the court has sought a formal explanation of the rules governing the appointment, the basis for any deviation from the age limit and whether a regular selection process is underway.
PGIMS Rohtak is part of the Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences and is a major public medical institution in Haryana. The director’s office is responsible for institutional administration, making the question of interim leadership relevant to the functioning of the university and its associated medical establishment.
The High Court’s directions do not finally decide the petition. They require the state government to place its position and the relevant legal basis before the court within the prescribed two-week period. The court will consider the government’s affidavit as the proceedings continue.
