PIL Challenges Appointment of Delhi Medical Council Registrar as Pvt Doctors’ Assn Prez; Delhi HC Issues Notice [Read Petition]

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Delhi Medical Council (DMC), the Delhi Medical Association (DMA), the Delhi government and DMC’s Registrar Girish Tyagi, on a public interest litigation challenging his continuance on the said post while also acting as the DMA president which represents the interest of medical practitioners.

A bench of Justice Ravindra Bhat and Justice AK Chawla issued notice on the PIL filed by VP Bansal, former Additional Director General of Health Services and a practicing doctor, and Hemant Goel, who is also a practicing doctor and also an Assistant Professor at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

Both Bansal and Geol are members of the Delhi Medical Association, which is a private association of doctors.

The petitioners were represented by PSL advocates and solicitors through managing partner Sandeep Bajaj and associate partner Soayib Qureshi, assisted by associate Naman Tandon.

They submitted before the court that “the Registrar, DMC, being a part of the Delhi Medical Council and performing a quasi-judicial functions and regulating the conduct of doctors in Delhi, cannot at the same time be allowed to represent the interest of doctors as the President of Delhi Medical Association, the largest private association of doctors”.

They said the “DMC is a statutory body and exercises public functions in terms of the Delhi Medical Council Act. Amongst other functions, it also adjudicates the complaints of general public against the doctors within the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Decision dated February 21, 2018 of the Delhi Medical Council in allowing the present incumbent registrar to hold the post of President of a private association of doctors as well as the Registrar of Delhi Medical Council is bound to cause conflict and interfere in the functioning of Delhi Medical Council and is thus liable to be declared illegal and void being contrary to the rule of law and public policy of India”.

They also said this development also highlights the need for a look into the affairs of DMC.