SC to examine plea against appointment of patents chief

NEW DELHI: SC Monday agreed to examine a plea challenging the appointment of Unnat P Pandit as the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks. The petition filed by around 600 Group-A Patent officers is virtually a revolt by them against the Centre's decision to Pandit's appointment.

A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal issued notices to Centre and Pandit seeking their response on allegation that his appointment was in violation of law & he was not qualified to hold the post.

Senior advocate P S Patwalia told the bench that it was a shocking case of backdoor appointment and sought the court's intervention, but his plea was opposed by Pandit's counsel who submitted that there was no breach of statutory law in his appointment. The court, after a brief hearing, asked the parties to file their response within four weeks.

The petition was filed by the All India Patent Officers' Welfare Association in SC after Delhi HC rejected its plea. HC had said the PIL cannot be entertained in service matters and closed the case. The association moved SC and challenged the appointment on grounds that Pandit was ineligible to be appointed to the post on deputation for five years and his appointment stood vitiated on account of an arbitrary selection process that was initiated without issuing any open advertisement as per mandate of the law.