The Directorate of Medical Education (DME) did not intend to take any punitive action against Dr Haris Chirackal, Head of the Urology Department, Government Medical College, the DME(in-charge) Dr Vishwanathan K V told Onmanorama. He said that the directorate will not hold any hearing of Dr Haris and it intends to conclude the matter by receiving a response to the show-cause notice. 

The DME issued a show-cause notice to Dr Haris Chirackal on July 29 after Haris went public with statements on equipment shortage in the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram. In the show-cause notice, it was cited that Dr Haris blemished the image of the health department and the state government with his statements, and his action was unbecoming of a government servant. 

"We want him to be with us. There was no punitive action intended against him. The notice was issued as part of departmental procedure. He has spoken in a way which violated the code of conduct of a government servant. Once we receive a response from him, the matter will be settled. There will not be any hearing," Dr Vishwanathan said. 

He said that the issue regarding missing equipment is another matter and is being treated independently. "Both are different matters. He spoke publicly to the media on equipment shortage, and it was done in violation of the rules," the DME said. 

Haris has said that no equipment was missing in the department and that it was being put aside simply because there was no doctor with the required expertise to use the equipment. The DME authorities said that they do periodic audit on equipments, disposed ones, those equipments that are kept idle and many of the heads of the departments fail to furnish proper reports. 

The authorities hinted that the show-cause notice and the following developments have blown the issue out of proportion, and it wasn't what they had expected. Haris has told Onmanorama that he will file a reply to the notice and that he has yet to receive a copy of the expert committee report. The DME based the charges in the show-cause notice on the findings of the expert committee.