Disclose reasons of inviting AHI doctors for PM surgery: CIC

New Delhi, May 26 (PTI) The reasons behind inviting a
private doctor to conduct cardiac surgery on India's Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh at AIIMS -- which has the facilities
and expertise to do it -- should be disclosed under RTI, the
Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed.

An Right to Information (RTI) applicant, Jagdish Chander
Jetli, sought details about the rules and reasons of AIIMS
under which Dr Ramakant Panda and his team from Asian Heart
Institute, Mumbai was asked to carry out the surgery at the
Institute.

Singh, 76, underwent a re-do coronary artery bypass
surgery at AIIMS on January 24 this year.

Jetli claimed that the response by AIIMS to his
application was "vague and evasive" prompting him to move an
appeal in the Central Information Commission.

After hearing the arguments of both sides, Information
Commissioner Annapurna Dixit held,"...how the decision to
invite Dr Panda to conduct surgery was arrived at and for what
reasons and also (the appellant should) be provided with
minutes of any meeting in this connection, available with
AIIMS by June 20."

Jetli argued before CIC that AIIMS had acknowledged
having expertise in the surgery that was conducted on the
Prime Minister with the success rate comparable with
international standards.

AIIMS contended there was no specific rule which mentions
explicitly about hiring a private doctor.

It said the Institute Director was competent to take any
administrative decision in the interest of patient care. It
also said the Institute does not have anything on record about
the expertise of Dr Panda.

Jetli alleged it was "inconceivable" that the Institute
allowed Dr Panda to operate on the Prime Minister without
ascertaining his expertise.

After hearing the arguments, Dixit said the appellant
wanted to know why a premier Institute like AIIMS, which is
staffed by the best doctors of the country and with the best
medical facilities, had to invite an "outside" doctor to
conduct the operation.

"Keeping the peculiar facts of the case in mind and in
the light of the fact that Dr Panda had used the facilities
belonging to AIIMS, which is a public authority, the
Commission directs the CPIO to obtain relevant information
from the Asian Heart Institute regarding the particulars of Dr
Panda and to provide the same to the appellant," Dixit said.
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