Chandigarh- Dr. A. Hariharan, an Other Backward Classes (OBC) gold medalist and former President of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) Chandigarh, has endured over a year of alleged institutional retaliation after questioning the handling of ₹1.85 crore in resident welfare funds.

Elected in March 2024 to represent over 1,600 resident doctors, Hariharan, a DM Intensive Care resident, uncovered financial discrepancies in the ARD’s 2023 accounts. His persistent demands for transparency, mandated by ARD rules from 1975, were met with a barrage of complaints, including a fabricated Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act charge, professional isolation, termination from his residency, and denial of his final-year DM exam.

With no stipend since October 2024 and unresolved allegations hanging over him, Hariharan’s fight has sparked protests, legal battles, and national scrutiny, exposing systemic issues in one of India’s premier medical institutes.

Questioning Financial Irregularities

Hariharan’s ordeal began days after his election on March 15, 2024, when he assumed leadership of the ARD with a mandate to address resident grievances. His team sent formal letters to the 2023 ARD office-bearers, requesting audited income-expenditure statements for the ₹85lakhs corpus, funds collected from resident stipends for welfare purposes like housing and equipment. Annexures to these letters, later filed with regulatory bodies, revealed no audited reports were provided, violating ARD’s 1975 constitution.

Within three days, on March 9, 2024, retaliation struck. Dr. Rigzin, a senior resident in Occupational Health Safety and Environment (OHSC) and former ARD University College Secretary for 2023, filed an SC/ST Act complaint against Hariharan, alleging caste-based discrimination in a private WhatsApp conversation.

Two other complaints followed: one for mental harassment from the ARD 2023 Treasurer and a defamation notice from Dr. Rahul Chakraborty, ARD President for 2022. Hariharan, speaking to The Mooknayak, called the SC/ST charge “false,” explaining that the WhatsApp exchange began amicably as friends discussing audit-related threats. He was unaware of Rigzin’s caste or religion, having worked with him for two years without conflict. Screenshots submitted as evidence show Rigzin’s sudden shift to alleging discrimination, followed by defamatory posts in the ARD WhatsApp group, to which Hariharan did not respond.

" On March 13, 2024, I officially informed the PGI Director and Dean (Academics) via email, detailing the financial irregularities, threats, and false allegations against me. Next day, the Director convened a meeting with ARD 2023 and ARD 2024. He acknowledged the financial irregularities and instructed ARD 2023 to submit an audit report. We were advised not to discuss the issue publicly or on WhatsApp, and we complied" Hariharan stated.

However, despite focusing on resident welfare initiatives (sports, gym, food facilities), Hariharan continued to face malicious complaints from ARD 2022-23 members.

In August 2024, a BASLP student filed a ragging FIR against Hariharan, alleging verbal abuse. PGIMER’s Anti-Ragging Committee cleared him on September 4, after reviewing his rebuttal with timestamps and witness statements, yet the FIR remains active, fueling media narratives of a “disruptive” leader. On October 7, a female senior resident and security guard were assaulted in the Emergency Medicine OPD at Nehru Hospital. Traumatized staff halted duties, demanding an institutional FIR for safety. Hariharan and ARD members supported the call via the residents’ WhatsApp group, receiving assurances from the Head of Department, Medicine, and Chief Security Officer. Director Lal’s delayed arrival led to a confrontation: signed statements from on-duty staff confirm he called Hariharan a “nonsense moron” and physically removed him, later blaming him for “service disruptions” in media leaks, despite evidence he did not incite the protest.

The cumulative toll-casteist slurs, isolation, and false charges, pushed Hariharan to a breaking point. On October 15, at 1 AM, under severe mental strain, he submitted an unsigned resignation via unofficial channels to his DM Intensive Care department, where he had completed 2 years and 5 months and submitted his thesis. By 11 AM, he formally withdrew it via email to the Establishment Branch-I, backed by the ARD. PGIMER accepted the original resignation retroactively, terminating him despite no misconduct or memo in his seven-year tenure at PGIMER (MD, non-academic senior residency, DM).

“No stipend since October 15, 2024, and they didn’t allow my final-year DM exam on November 26, 2024,” Hariharan told The Mooknayak, noting all complaints against him remain pending. Over 500 residents and the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) condemned the termination as “illegal” on October 28, escalating to the Union Health Ministry. A relay hunger strike halting OPDs followed, with the All India Joint Action Forum denouncing show-cause notices to protesters as “unjust” on October 23.

Hariharan’s legal fight hit roadblocks. His Punjab and Haryana High Court petition, invoking Articles 14 and 21, was redirected to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on October 23, after PGIMER argued DM residents are “employees.” The High Court, on December 21, 2024 urged reconsideration of the resignation and exam ban, but PGIMER upheld both, stalling Hariharan’s super-specialty career.

An RTI in 2025 falsely claimed “no complaints received,” which Hariharan cites as a cover-up.

The doctor has filed multiple complaints with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National OBC Commission, UGC National Anti-Ragging Cell, and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, attaching audio recordings, emails, and documents as proof.

In those emails, he alleged continuous blackmail and mental torture between April and September 2024, hate speech and caste-based humiliation in official meetings, denial of academic opportunities, including refusal of permission to present his research at an international conference despite having the department's approval and attempts to force him into an unconditional apology and withdrawal of complaints.

"I was mocked and sidelined in meetings. I was also advised to "fall at their feet and apologise" to save my career - a statement soaked in feudal, casteist overtones targeting my background," he said.

Meanwhile, PGIMER has come under the scanner of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) over allegations of discrimination and harassment.

The Commission issued a formal notice to PGIMER on September 4 after receiving a complaint from the doctor on February 21, 2025. The NCSC has invoked its powers under Article 338 of the Constitution of India to inquire into the matter.