The order for a departmental re-inquiry into Dr Kafeel Khan has been withdrawn, the Uttar Pradesh government told the Allahabad High Court, PTI reported on Sunday.

Khan was a paediatrician at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College and Hospital, where 63 children died due to lack of oxygen in 2017. He was suspended from his post after the incident and jailed for nine months on charges of medical negligence, corruption and dereliction of duty.

In September 2019, the Uttar Pradesh government cleared Khan of all charges and also praised him for doing everything he could to help save lives. During the crisis, Khan said he had bought oxygen cylinders with his own money and made arrangements through his network to get more supplies.

In a petition, Khan challenged his suspension and the disciplinary authority’s order dated February 24, 2020, to order a re-inquiry against him.

During the proceedings on Friday, Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal told the High Court that the disciplinary authority’s order has been withdrawn and efforts shall be made to conclude the proceedings against Khan within a period of three months.

On July 29, Justice Yashwant Varma had asked the Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh to justify Khan’s suspension from the hospital for more than four years. “The delay in taking further action on the part of the disciplinary authority is not explained,” the judge noted.

The next hearing in the case will take place on August 10.

Khan had been arrested in January last year for allegedly making inflammatory remarks during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Aligarh Muslim University. He was detained under the National Security Act. The doctor was released in September 2020 after the Allahabad High Court quashed his detention order.