CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the state govt to file a report whether an ordinance could be promulgated for holding elections to Tamil Nadu Medical Council (TNMC), as the tenure of seven of the members ends in February.
The direction was given by the first bench comprising Acting Chief Justice, T Raja, and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy on the appeals challenging a single judge’s order staying the polls for three months until the “archaic” Madras Medical Registration Act, 1914, is revamped.
Senior counsel, Vijay Narayan, appearing for TNMC, said the term of 7 doctors will end on February 16, 2023. “The state government had consented to bring in a new legislation, but it is impossible to implement within a month’s time from now,” he said. He sought the court to permit the election to only the seven members that are to be chosen by registered practitioners.
The division bench, however, asked how such a prayer could be granted, given the Act was apparently archaic and the single bench had ordered its complete revamp. In December, 2022, Justice R Subramanian ordered the state government to revamp the existing Madras Medical Council Registration Act, 1914.
“The state is saying the existing law should not be used. Why are you (Medical Council) insisting on it? Had the state taken a stand such as yours, we would have understood, but how can you be anti-establishment?,” the bench had questioned the counsel for TNMC.