While dismissing a number of writ petitions filed by several doctors whose licenses were suspended by the Medical Council of India (MCI) for deliberate misrepresentation and fraud, Division bench of Mumbai High Court has categorically held that MCI has absolute power under the provisions of “Code of Ethics & Regulations, 2002” to take disciplinary action and cancel or suspend medical registrations of doctors found guilty for medical negligence or ethical violation (see the full HC judgment below). Dr. Bapat Vishnuprasad Madhusudan, Dr. Asmita Desmukh and Dr. Sashikant Patel, all of whom were registered with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), were found prima facie guilty and charged by the CBI for providing fake evidence as attending professor in favor of Melmaruvathur Adiparasakthi Institute Medical Sciences only to obtain MCI recognition of this private medical college in Tamil Nadu. After CBI brought this to the attention of MCI, the doctors were found guilty for ethical violation and their licenses were suspended for a period between 1 and 5 years. But since these doctors were registered with MMC, the guilty doctors moved Mumbai High Court claiming that MCI has no authority to take action against them. After a long contested legal battle for 3 years, Mumbai High Court passed this historic judgment clearly stating that MCI has full authority to take disciplinary action against the errant doctors. It is a routine practice by most state medical councils (SMCs) not to cancel or suspend licenses of doctors who are found guilty by the MCI on the plea that MCI has no authority to take action against doctors who are registered by the state medical council. This judgment unequivocally has held that MCI can take disciplinary action against wayward doctors based on a complaint or after an appeal filed by the aggrieved patients/victims whose complaints are dismissed by the state medical council. PBT welcomes this historic judgment as it will pave the way for appropriate disciplinary action against the delinquent doctors.
Bombay HC Judgment (MCI Disciplinary action) Oct, 2015
