PHC suspends LRH director’s removal order

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday suspended the removal order of Dr Adnan Taj as director of Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and sought reply from the chairman of the Board of Governors (BoGs) of the hospital.
A division bench comprising Justice Qaisar Rashid Khan and Justice Asadullah Khan Chamkani suspended the notification and sought replies from the respondents before the next hearing. The petitioner’s lawyer Mohibullah Kakakhel submitted before the bench that the petitioner was appointed as hospital director by the secretary health after due process of the new law called KP Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act 2015.
He submitted that under the law nobody can be appointed by the chairman of BoGs or removed.Under the law, the decision is to be taken by consensus, and in case of division of opinion, the decision is to be taken by majority of votes.
It said that all of a sudden, the chairman BoGs Dr Nosherawan Barki, on June 16, 2015 sent a letter to the petitioner that his service has been terminated with immediate effect, which is illegal, without jurisdiction and lawful authority.