Indian Express: New Delhi: Saturday,
February 04, 2017.
The Central
Information Commission (CIC) has directed Medical Council of India (MCI) to
disclose details of disciplinary proceedings against its former president Ketan
Desai. It has been pulled up the MCI for violating its earlier directives and
denying information about Desai without reasons to substantiate the denial.
In a recent
order, Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad directed the MCI to disclose
the status of complaints against Desai and the status of suspension of his
medical registration. He observed that “mere pendency of final
decision/examination/consideration of an issue is not good enough reason to
deny information”. Azad added that the disclosure of information is “directly
related to larger public interest”.
The MCI had
denied information about the minutes of its Ethics Committee on complaints against
Desai. “Merely stating that the minutes of the Ethics Committee are quasi
judicial in nature does not make the same exempt under RTI Act, since there is
no such provision under the Act,” said Azad. He added that the MCI needs to
allow inspection of the relevant files regarding agenda of all meetings of MCI
Ethics Committee since December 2013.
Kolkata-based
appellant Kunal Saha had unsuccessfully sought the basis of appointment of the
assessors, who conduct inspections on MCI’s behalf. The CIC has directed that
“the qualification of the Professors or Associates who are assigned the task
should also be made available to the appellant” in order to “enhance the faith
of patients”.
The
information is related to Desai’s alleged “criminal misconduct” that led to his
suspension in October 2010. The CBI arrested him days later while the MCI
suspended his medical practitioner license. But later Gujarat State Medical
Council nominated him again to the MCI in October 2013. Desai became World
Medical Association President in October last year.
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