Chandigarh announces 32 names for Commendation Certificates

Professor Emeritus, Senior Advocate and former director, National Judicial Academy of India, he was born on July 4, 1944. He moved to Chandigarh in 1956 and joined the law classes at Panjab University in 1964. His journey in law and justice has been distinguished and wide-ranging. He has served as a Parliamentary Fellow at the Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies, New Delhi; Professor of Law and Chairman, Department of Laws, Panjab University. Dr Gupta was also director (academics), Chandigarh Judicial Academy. A prolific writer, Dr Gupta has also authored several books on law and his journey in the field.

Another distinguished awardee is Colonel Jasdeep Sandhu, Advisor-cum-Principal Director, Civil-Military Affairs, Headquarters Western Command, who is being recognised for his exceptional contribution to civil-military coordination in Chandigarh over nearly a decade. A native of the city, Colonel Sandhu played a crucial role during security contingencies, VVIP visits and the COVID-19 pandemic, including the establishment of two 100-bed COVID hospitals and restoration of essential services during crises. His close coordination with the Chandigarh Police, civil authorities and defence forces ensured swift responses to bomb threats, disaster situations and intelligence sharing across the Tricity. His role during Operation Sindoor and sustained support to the UT Administration earned repeated appreciation from senior officials.

Laxmi Kant Tewari, Senior Radiographic Technician-cum-Radiological Safety Officer at GMCH-32, has been honoured for his professional excellence, academic leadership and social commitment in medical radiology. A life member of leading national professional bodies, he has served as an external examiner for reputed universities and contributed to several administrative and policy committees at GMCH-32. He has organised national conferences, delivered expert lectures on radiation safety and patient care, and led social awareness campaigns against female foeticide and sex-selection drugs, besides organising blood donation and health camps, earning national and international recognition.

In the field of sports, Mahit Sandhu, an international rifle shooter, is being recognised for bringing pride to the nation through her exceptional achievements on the global stage. At the 25th Summer Deaflympics 2025 in Tokyo, she delivered a historic performance by winning two gold and two silver medals. She has also represented India at the World Deaf Shooting Championship 2024 in Hannover, Germany, and the 16th Asian Shooting Championship 2025 in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, where she won multiple medals and set new records. Her consistency, precision and composure under pressure reflect the highest standards of sporting excellence.

Other recipients being honoured for meritorious service in government departments include Dr Parmanand Gupta, Dr Mrinalini C Kumar, Neeraj (MTS), Mukesh Kapoor, Parveen Kumari, Yogesh Chander, Dr Sheenu Gupta, Narinder Kapoor, Deepak Bhatt, Sumit Kumar Toor, Amrinder Singh, Anil Kamboj, Jarnail Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Raj Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Kiran Bala, Anju Verma Lakhani, Rajesh Sharma and Inspector Daya Ram.

A healing touch

In the field of medicine, the Chandigarh Administration will honour two doctors with commendation certificates on this Republic Day. Dr Parmanand Gupta, head, Department of Orthopaedics, GMCH-32, maintained he is honoured and grateful to be given this honour. “I am thankful to GMCH and the hospital family and fraternity for this commendation,” said Dr Gupta, whose expertise is paediatric orthopaedics, deformity correction, with expertise in knee surgeries, upper limb surgery, trauma surgery, with numerous research papers to his credit.

Dr Mrinalini Kumar, Senior Medical Officer, GMSH-16, a pathologist by speciality, is currently the District Family Welfare Officer, GMSH-16, and was also heading the Department of Pathology at the hospital. “I joined my service as a pathologist. In September, I was given the charge as nodal officer, maternal and child health, and nodal officer PCPNDT. In this role, my focus is to improve the sex ratio and celebrate the girl child. In my tenure as HoD of Pathology, we started the DNB course, and the IPHL lab was also established here. It is an integrated lab, with the core idea that a patient should not have to go to different areas to give samples, and there should be one collection centre, an initiative that was thought of since COVID. GMSH-16 was chosen for this lab at the district level, and it is functioning very well,” said Dr Kumar.

Excited and grateful for the commendation, Dr Kumar said it is a recognition of her hard work and dedication to her profession. “As a pathologist and now in the role of an administrator, I want to tell young doctors and staff to be sincere and look after their mental health with so many work pressures, and maintain a balance between professional and personal life and work with sincerity,” said Dr Kumar.

Those honoured in the field of social service include Nitesh Sharma, Dilpreet Kaur Sekhon, Mohinder Pal Singh Chawla, Ritu Chaudhary, Aditi Aery and Sanjeev Chadha while Jiana Kumar joins Mahit Sandhu in the sports category. Dharam Vir Duggal is being honoured for his contribution to public service.