Medical Council of India

Things back to square one at MCI as oversight committee's 'term' ends

TNN | Jun 3, 2017, 03.13 AM IST

A year after the Supreme Court constituted a three-member committee to oversee the running of the Medical Council of India (MCI) because it felt the body was failing to discharge its duties and needed an overhaul, things are back to square one, at least temporarily.
The oversight committee (OC), after completing one year, has started winding up its functioning in the absence of any extension of its tenure. The apex court had in its order of May 2 last year said the OC would "function till the Central Government puts in place any other appropriate mechanism", but had gone on to add that it would "function for a period of one year, unless suitable mechanism is brought in place earlier".

The OC itself reads this as a one-year tenure unless extended. Justice Lodha told TOI that in his view this was not in dispute. He said it was the health ministry's duty to have brought this to the SC's notice before the year ran out and sought an extension. The health ministry, however, seems to believe the OC's tenure is still on. "The matter is still under consideration and we are waiting for the Supreme Court vacation to get over," said a senior health ministry official, refusing to comment further.

The May 2, 2016 order of a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court came close on the heels of a parliamentary committee severely castigating the functioning of MCI as a regulator of medical education and of the profession and suggesting a complete redoing of the regulatory body and the Act governing it.

The SC appointed Justice RM Lodha, former chief justice of India, Vinod Rai, former Comptroller and Auditor General of India and Dr SK Sarin, director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, as members of the OC. The order stated that the OC would function till the government put in place a new regulatory mechanism after "due consideration" of the Ranjit Roy Chaudhury committee report. This committee studied the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and suggested reforms in the regulatory oversight of the medical profession by the MCI .

On May 16, 2016, the health ministry notified the OC. The matter was to be listed after one year "for further directions as may become necessary". However, the Supreme Court summer vacation started on May 11 this year. The court will resume sitting only on July 3.

Though the Supreme Court had said that the OC will be "free to issue appropriate remedial directions", the OC's directions on how assessment of medical colleges were to be conducted and on the approval or recognition of colleges were not complied with by the MCI.