Delhi High Court tells Delhi Medical Council to proactively tackle medical quacks, not wait for complaints

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking a time-bound verification of the educational certificates of all doctors in the national capital..The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna sought a response from the Union government, the Delhi government, the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) and the National Medical Commission, before listing the case for further hearing on January 24..The PIL petition has alleged that there has been an unchecked rise of medical quackery in Delhi. The petition highlighted news reports on such incidents including the recent unearthing of a fake doctor scam at a nursing home. .When the matter was heard today, the Court observed that the issues raised in the PIL were pertinent. It stressed that the DMC must step up to tackle medical quacks or fake doctors, without waiting for complaints to be filed. “With regard to doctors, you must exercise far greater supervision. Your control at the ground level is not there, it seems. You need to be far more vigilant, far more in control than you are as of today,” the Court said..Society must have confidence that the DMC is a responsible organisation and not just reacting on the basis of complaints, Justice Manmohan added.“You must ensure that your presence is felt at the ground level and these corrupt practices are taken care of by you in the first instance itself. You don’t have to wait for a complaint," the judge remarked. The Court also suggested that certain details from the State Medical Register on doctors could be made available online so that people can cross-check whether a doctor is genuine or not or whether a doctor has the specialisation which s/he claims to possess. .Justice Pushkarna added that there should be measures to ensure that the degree held by a doctor matches his actual medical practice. “He may be having a MBBS degree but the practice may be totally separate in a different stream of medicine. It cannot be allowed,” the Court said..The PIL before the Court was filed by a minor along with his mother and three others. Among other submissions, the petitioners raised concerns that doctors who only possess an MBBS degree are posing as specialists and are even carrying out surgeries. It was also alleged before the Court that the DMC and its officials were hand in glove with such fake doctors.“The lack of regulatory mechanism has created a fertile ground for the unchecked growth of quackery in the city. The repercussions are profound, reaching into the lives of millions who are now exposed to substandard and perilous healthcare practices. Urgent and decisive actions are imperative to ensure safety and well-being of the residents of Delhi,” the PIL said..The Court has now asked the respondent authorities to file their response within four weeks. The Court also hinted that it was inclined to order the verification of the doctors' qualifications through a committee.