Top officials of Delhi Medical Council suspended over unlawful tenure extension, financial irregularities
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Medical Council (DMC) is embroiled in a major controversy as the city government has swiftly suspended both the president and vice president of the council. The suspension follows serious allegations of financial misconduct and disregard for government orders.
The officials—Dr Arun Gupta and Dr Naresh Chawla—are accused of unlawfully extending the tenure of the council’s registrar, Dr Girish Tyagi, despite multiple directives to relieve him.
The action was taken after North West Delhi MP Yogendra Chandoliya flagged the issue, demanding strict measures against the top office bearers. At the center of the contention is Dr Tyagi, who was supposed to retire in 2019 upon reaching the age of 60.
However, Dr Gupta, as DMC president, allegedly amended recruitment rules without government approval, allowing Tyagi to continue in office for five more years until 2024. He was later granted an additional year, further extending his tenure unlawfully, the government alleged.
Despite repeated orders from the health department to relieve Tyagi, the DMC leadership reportedly refused to comply.
“DMC orchestrated unlawful extensions for Dr. Girish Tyagi by manipulating official records and defying Rule 36 of the DMC Act. In 2019, the President allowed extension to the registrar (60 years to 65 years) without approval from the government despite knowing the fact that the Dr Girish Tyagi is holding an administrative post only, and as per Fundamental Rule 56 of DoPT, he had to retire at the age of 60 years.
The health department has now ordered a recovery of all salaries and benefits paid to Dr Tyagi since 2019, citing financial losses to the exchequer. “Since December 2019, Dr. Tyagi has been receiving salary and benefits despite his term's expiry. Immediate steps must be taken to recover this financial loss to the exchequer,” the notice read.
The matter has also reached the courts, where Dr. Tyagi has challenged his removal. However, the deputy secretary (council) of the health department in its notice stated that "Dr Tyagi submitted misleading legal responses without council members' knowledge or approval."
The suspension notice demanded explanations over these irregularities and also cited vigilance investigation that remains active against Dr Gupta and Dr Tyagi regarding unauthorised signature usage and fund management after their tenure ended.