Delhi High Court to hear PIL challenging appointment of CGPDTM Professor P Unnat Pandit

A PIL has been filed in the Delhi High Court challenging the appointment of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) Professor P Unnat Pandit. The PIL comes after a committee under the Union Ministry of Commerce indicted Pandit for his alleged involvement in the computer purchase irregularities, a development which was first reported by businessline on July 18.

The PIL, filed by the All India Patent Officers’ Welfare Association (AIPOWA), argued that Pandit’s appointment was “illegal and arbitrary” and made in “gross disregard” of the open selection procedure laid out by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

The case came up for hearing on Tuesday in the Delhi High Court division bench, headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan. The High Court adjourned the matter till September 4 for a hearing, said Pandit’s counsel, Tanmaya Mehta.

The CGPDTM is the administrative head of intellectual property rights in the country. Before becoming CGPDTM, Pandit was a Professor of IP Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Chairman of the IPM Cell of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

“We have challenged his appointment since he was not eligible and it was done in an arbitrary manner. We are also seeking court direction for framing up of Recruitment Rules for the post of CGPDTM as per the mandate of DoPT official memorandum (OM) issued on December 31, 2010, to ensure transparency and accountability in appointment to the post,” said Gyanant Kumar Singh, advocate for the petitioners.

In the petition, the All India Patent Officers’ Welfare Association (AIPOWA) said that Pandit was not eligible for appointment on deputation to CGPDTM in February 2022 due to lack of the requisite five years of experience—one of the conditions laid down by the DoPT.

Despite that, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which falls under the Ministry of Commerce, selected him without bringing an advertisement for open recruitment for the August post, violating the assurance given to the DoPT, the petition stated.

According to the Association, advertisements for filling vacancies were issued under the Central Staffing Scheme as usual, but subsequently, a Search Committee Procedure was introduced.

The First Search Committee, under Giridhar Aramane, then Secretary DPIIT and now Defence Secretary, recommended recruitment through advertisement before proceeding further, but it was disbanded immediately after its first meeting on September 15, 2021.

The next day, a Second Search Committee with new members was approved, replacing two outside Department figures who were part of the First Search Committee.

Interestingly, the Second Committee, in its first meeting on September 17, 2021, decided that the members themselves would suggest names instead of seeking candidates through advertisement, which denied eligible candidates an opportunity.

At the final meeting on September 23, that year, a panel of three names, including Pandit, was considered for filling the post of CGPDTM. The names were sent to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for selection to the post. The ACC, on February 2, 2022, approved the appointment of Prof Unnat P Pandit to the post of CGPDTM on deputation for 5 years.

The petition charged that the “minutes of the meeting of the new Search Committee do not record any discussion with regard to eligibility as to qualification and experience it was looking for or required or particularly possessed by any of the three shortlisted candidates nominated by them”.