Doctor dangerous? 10th grade pass-out ran a clinic for 3 years, treated 70-80 patients daily

Doctor dangerous? 10th grade pass-out ran a clinic for 3 years, treated 70-80 patients daily

etimes.in | Jan 21, 2025, 10.40 PM IST

In an alarming occurrence from Pandharpur, Maharashtra, an individual has been arrested for running a fake clinic for over three years without any medical qualifications. Dattatraya Sadashiv Pawar, a Class 10 pass-out, had been posing as a doctor and treating patients with serious conditions, including diabetes and bone disorders, all while lacking the necessary credentials to practice medicine.

A fraudulent medical practice

According to media sources, including the latest reports by News18 and Mathrubhumi(dot)com, Pawar, who had completed only a brief four-day training in Satara, used this limited knowledge to open his own clinic. For three years, he treated patients without any formal medical training or a valid license. Charging ₹500 per consultation, he was reportedly seeing 70–80 patients daily.

Expanding the fraudulent operations

Not satisfied with operating in Pandharpur alone, Pawar also extended his services to Shegaon, where he continued to pose as a qualified doctor. His clinic grew in popularity, with many locals trusting him for their medical needs, unaware of his lack of credentials.

Exposing the scamAccording to media reports, the truth behind Pawar’s illegal clinic finally came to light after concerned residents raised suspicions about his practices. The health department was alerted, and a raid was conducted with the help of local police and municipal authorities. It was during this raid that it was confirmed that Pawar had no medical license or proper qualifications, leading to his arrest and the closure of his clinic.

Ongoing investigations

As per sources, following the raid, the authorities have launched a full investigation to uncover the full extent of Pawar’s activities. Investigations are also underway to determine if other unlicensed practitioners are operating in the area.

This incident is a strong reminder of why it's so important to check a doctor's qualifications and stay alert to people pretending to be healthcare professionals. It shows the dangers of trusting unqualified practitioners and why we need stricter rules to ensure safety in medical care.

MP High Court Issues Notice On Plea Challenging BCI's Attendance Rules, Meanwhile Permits NLIU Student Short On Attendance To Sit In Class

MP High Court Issues Notice On Plea Challenging BCI's Attendance Rules, Meanwhile Permits NLIU Student Short On Attendance To Sit In Class

Siddhi Nigam

21 Jan 2025 4:55 PM

The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court recently granted interim relief to an law student to attend her fourth semester classes after she was debarred by NLIU Bhopal due to shortage of attendance.

The court however made it clear that the student's fate would depend on the outcome of the plea.

Issuing notice to the respondents, a division bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Avanindra Kumar Singh in its January 17 order said, “Heard on the question of admission and interim relief. Issue notice to the respondents...In the meanwhile, the petitioner shall be permitted to attend the classes for IVth Semester of B.A., LL.B. Course. It is made clear that the petitioner shall not be entitled to claim any equity and the entire fate would depend on the outcome of this petition. The petitioner would at liberty to move an appropriate application for permission when the dates for repeat examinations are notified.”

The student's petition challenges the validity of attendance rules notified and enforced by the Bar Council of India–Rule 12 of the Legal Education Rules notified by BCI, and Rule 7 of the Ordinances of the National Law Institute University, Bhopal 2023.

The petitioner's counsel said that the student suffered from a medical condition of spine, due to which her attendance had fallen short. The University had relaxed the attendance up to 60 percent but the petitioner's attendance was 54.8 percent, however norm was 65% and 70% as per Bar Council Rules. The petitioner's counsel however said that the relaxation was not adequate.

The petitioner's counsel, in this case said that they had also challenged the Bar Council Rules, and relied on the recent judicial opinion which says that debarring a student based on lack of attendance in this era is completely out of place and illegal. He said that this was discussed in Delhi High Court's order regarding a law student's suicide. The counsel said that the Delhi High court had stated that “In the opinion of this court, teachers and students need to be consulted in order to consider what should be the standards of attendance. Wider consultation would also be required to be undertaken to have a relook at the need to have mandatory attendance”.

In the present case, the petitioner's counsel argued that any other penalty such as extra classes, sending to library, submit extra assignments shall be a plausible remedy rather than leading the students to waste their one year and debarring them. He said that the petitioner has been asked to stay back for one year, adding that session for the semester had started on January 1 and the examination is in February and the student had been debarred from taking the repeat examination for students who are short of attendance.He said that the petitioner is not being considered since she does not come under the norm set under the rules.

The counsel said that the petitioner's medical certificate had been submitted but since it was below 60% she was not being allowed to sit for the exam by NLIU.

The counsel appearing for the respondent university argued that action completely in line with BCI norms. The university stated that it had decided to consider relaxation of attendance on the ground of medical condition of the students but only those having minimum attendance of 60%. The Respondent contended that there needs to be a minimum threshold for considering relaxation of attendance.

The petitioner's counsel said that there cant be a fixed criteria or a number it has to be based on subjective satisfaction which the university could not have done.

After hearing the matter for some time, the court said that it shall permit the student to attend classes for the time being as an interim measure. The court also said that it shall hear the Bar Council of India as well.

Case title: Anupama Alice Minj Vs National Law Institute University, Bhopal And Others

Counsel for Petitioner: Advocates Anshuman Singh and Sahil Sonkusale

Counsel for NLIU: Advocate Sankalp Kochar

Case No: WP No. 970 of 2025

Mere Suppression Of Taking Treatment Or Obtaining Medical Leave Not Reason To Deny Entire Life Insurance Claim: Madras High Court

Mere Suppression Of Taking Treatment Or Obtaining Medical Leave Not Reason To Deny Entire Life Insurance Claim: Madras High Court

Upasana Sajeev

9 Jan 2025 11:32 AM

The Madras High Court recently observed that merely suppressing the fact of taking a treatment or obtaining medical leave could not be a ground to reject the entire life insurance claim.

Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan thus came to the aid of a widow, whose claim was rejected by the Life Insurance Corporation after her husband's death. The court noted that the petitioner's husband had died due to a sudden cardiac arrest and thus she was entitled to the claim amount as per the policy. The court thus directed the LIC to disburse the policy amount with 6% interest.

“This suppression cannot be the reason for denial of entire claim. Now, the insured lost his life due to sudden cardiac arrest. Therefore, the petitioner is entitled for the claim amount as per the policy. In view of the above, the impugned order passed by the respondent dated 04.02.2021 is liable to be quashed and accordingly it is quashed. The respondent is directed to disburse the policy amount with interest at the rate of 6% p.a., from the date of claim namely 01.07.2020 till the date of payment without a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order,” the court said.

The petitioner Ezhilarasi informed the court that her husband was working as Principal Incharge in Government Arts and Science College, Manimedu when he had taken the life insurance policy for a sum assured of Rs 10 Lakh. Ezhilarasi was named as the nominee in the policy. In 2020, Ezhilarasi's husband had a chest pain and though he was immediately taken to the hospital, he died without taking any treatment. After this, when Ezhilarasi made a claim under the policy, her claim was rejected on the ground of suppression of material facts.

The LIC submitted that while taking the policy, the petitioner's husband had suppressed the fact that he had previously suffered chest pain and cardiac arrest. It was contended that on verification of records, it was found that her husband had also availed leave on medical grounds on various occasions, which he had suppressed. The respondent corporation thus pointed out that if the facts had not been suppressed, it would not have accepted the proposal for Rs. 10 Lakh.

The court noted that while it was true that the petitioner's husband had taken medical leave, he had not undergone any surgery or treatment post 2016. The court noted that the husband had only suffered fever and typhoid during that time which was incidental to anyone's life. Further, the court also noted that there was no evidence to show that the husband had any chronic heart ailments.

The court further noted that while filling out the application forms, the insured was to only answer in yes or no which was also filled up by the agent in most cases, without getting any instructions from the insured. In the present case also, the court noted that the insured had not approached LIC for policy but was rather canvassed by the agent, who later himself filed out the application form and obtained the signatures. Thus, the court opined that the insured had not suppressed the fact of medical leave or admission in hospital.

The court was thus inclined to quash LIC's order.

Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. R. Ganesh Prabhu

Counsel for the Respondent: Mr. G. Prabhu Rajadurai, Standing Counsel

Case Title: K. Ezhilarasi v The Senior Divisional Manager

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Mad) 7

Case No: W.P (MD). No. 20881 of 2021

NEWS TODAY 21.05.2025

 

Leopards on prowl, Guj farmer & 6 kids sleep in 8x6ft cage

Leopards on prowl, Guj farmer & 6 kids sleep in 8x6ft cage 

21.01.2025

Ahmedabad : Desperate to protect his six children from leopards prowling Japodar village in Gujarat’s Amreli district, a farmer has chosen to cage his family. Every night, Bariya sleeps with his kids—five daughters and a three month-old son— inside an 8x6-ft iron cage, huddling together within the metal bars. The ‘human cage’—the only solution Bariya could come up with to save themselves from becoming prey—is a stark symbol of human-wildlife conflict in rural Amreli, which has a large population of lions and leopards. “One day, my daughters asked me what would happen if a leopard attacked them. That question shook me to my core, and I decided to build this cage where we now sleep together. The safety of my children haunts me constantly. The house in our field is not strong enough to protect them. After losing their mother, I am all they have. My elderly parents can barely hear anymore and though my sister-in-law helps car e for the children, the threat remains,” Bariya said. TNN

Central govt may soon ask private companies to notify vacancies

Central govt may soon ask private companies to notify vacancies

Hemali.Chhapia@timesofindia.com 21.01.2025

Mumbai : Vacancies in all departments and verticals of private companies may soon have to be mandatorily notified to govt, signalling a shift in employment regulation. The Centre plans to replace the Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959, with the new Social Securities Act, in order to formalise a mechanism for disseminating information on job vacancies and introduce steep penalties for non-compliance – govt wants to hike fines, which were once a negligible Rs 100, to as high as Rs 50,000. 

“We have employment exchanges, but they have become defunct. With the changes in the Act, we will revive and strengthen them to ensure companies inform the state about vacancies,” said Mangal Prabhat Lodha, state minister for skill education, employment, and entrepreneurship. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Lodha said nominal penalties of Rs 100-500 have discouraged companies from reporting vacancies, a practice that will change under the revamped law. Currently, most companies post their vacancies on employment-oriented social media platforms like LinkedIn. It is not clear why the govt wants to duplicate this effort. To ease compliance, Maharashtra govt plans to develop a state-specific job portal for companies to list their openings. This initiative, according to the minister, forms part of a broader 100-day action plan. Sougato Roychoudhary, executive director, CII, said while there is already a provision to notify vacancies, “It (the new proposal) will help to understand (number of) jobs in every state. On the one hand, industry is looking for talent and one speaks of unemployment.

 This is a good initiative.” The Centre is also drafting a Private Placements Act to regulate placement agencies. States like Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, and Assam have already submitted inputs for this bill. Maharashtra too plans to make submissions for it. Under this act, all placement agencies will have to register in their respective state, which will empanel and monitor them. “These agencies often charge fees and promise jobs but sometimes end up duping candidates. By registering them, we can hold them accountable and track data on jobs secured through their platforms,” said an official. These agencies will also be required to participate in state-organized job fairs. Meanwhile, as part of a 100-day action plan in Maharashtra, job fairs will be organized in industrial belts, and memorandums of understanding will be signed with 1,000 industrial establishments.

Punjab reinstates career progression scheme for med officers with changes

Punjab reinstates career progression scheme for med officers with changes 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 21.01.2025

Chandigarh : Succumbing to pressure from the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA), the Punjab govt has reinstated the Assured Career Progression (ACP) scheme, albeit with certain modifications. The Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) scheme, which was suspended in 2021 by the previous Congress govt, is now reintroduced with changes and is renamed the Modified Assured Career Progression (MACP) scheme for medical officers of the health department. 

Under the earlier scheme, medical officers were entitled to three-grade pay revisions — the first after four years, the second after nine years, and the third after 14 years of service. However, the new scheme revises the timelines for pay upgrades: the first after five years, the second after 10 years, and the third after 15 years of service. The scheme applies to officers appointed before July 17, 2020, who are receiving pay scales under the Punjab Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2021. The modified ACP scheme will take effect on Jan 1, 2025. For medical officers recruited on or after July 17, 2020, whose pay scales follow the Seventh Central Pay Commission or Sixth Punjab Pay Commission, a separate scheme will be formulated due to differences in pay matrices and levels. With the issuance of a notification reinstating the ACP scheme, the PCMSA has called off its planned agitation. 

The PCMSA expressed heartfelt gratitude to Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh and Health Secretary Kumar Rahul for their efforts in addressing the key issues affecting public healthcare in the state. PCMSA state president Dr Akhil Sarin emphasised that the reinstatement of ACPs would play a key role in retaining doctors in department and strengthening Punjab's public healthcare system