The Delhi Medical Council (DMC) elections have been halted after objections from a group of doctors who alleged serious irregularities in the State Medical Register (SMR). Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the poll process has been paused until further notice.
The election process was initiated last week with a public notice informing medical practitioners about the poll schedule and the requirement to update the SMR. At the same time, medical colleges were asked to conduct internal elections to choose faculty members who would represent them on the DMC’s executive body.
“We have put the process on hold. Medical institutes have been asked to defer their internal election till further notice,” a senior official from the health department said.
The interruption followed objections raised by Dr Pankaj Solanki, a member of the dissolved executive council of the DMC, who flagged procedural lapses in a written communication to the Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor. Several senior doctors supported the objections, after which institutions were asked not to proceed with their internal voting.
The primary objection was that medical colleges were instructed to elect their nominees for the executive body even though the SMR update — a crucial prerequisite — was still underway. According to established procedure, the selection of college representatives is conducted only after the direct elections for eight popularly elected positions, in which all registered practitioners participate.
“Conducting any phase of the election process during an ongoing revision not only contravenes statutory requirements but also raises serious concerns about the fairness, legality and transparency of the election,” Dr Solanki said. He added that pre-selecting 14 members—10 college representatives and four government nominees—before the election of eight directly elected members would result in “a structurally biased and unfair election.”
Dr Solanki further said the election should not move ahead before the findings of a committee probing alleged corruption in the council are made public. “If the elections are conducted before the Enquiry Committee’s report is made public, and before those involved in corruption are shown their rightful place, then the very purpose of dissolving the DMC will stand defeated. Those who are neck-deep in corruption must be exposed before the entire medical fraternity,” he said.
The DMC is a 25-member statutory body reconstituted every five years. Eight members are elected directly by registered medical practitioners, one member is elected by the Delhi Medical Association, four are nominated by the Delhi government and 10 are elected by faculty from ten medical colleges in the capital. Two ex-officio members represent the Directorate of Health Services.
The executive body of the council was dissolved on June 17, 2025, by the Lieutenant Governor over alleged irregularities and abuse of power. The dissolution followed controversy over the extension of the retirement age of the council’s registrar from 60 to 65 without approval, along with a further one-year extension. After dissolving the body, the Directorate General of Health Services was assigned the registrar’s responsibilities while the government initiated a probe into administrative and financial violations.
Officials said the election process will resume only after clarity on the SMR.