NEW DELHI: As hundreds of complaints of medical negligence and misconduct against doctors have been rejected by the ethics board of the National Medical Commission (NMC) for the past five years, the Union Health Ministry has now decided to examine the issue, an RTI has revealed.
The ministry will examine the issue in consultation with the NMC, a statutory body that regulates medical education, medical professionals, institutions, and research.
Till June this year, appeals of as many as 162 patients against doctors for medical negligence and misconduct were rejected by the NMC’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), which regulates professional conduct and promotes medical ethics in the country.
The ministry’s decision to consult NMC came after RTI activist Dr KV Babu pointed out that the government was being "misled" by the Commission on the issue.
He flagged the issue after Anupriya Patel, Minister of State in the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, in a parliamentary reply on July 22, stated that no report had been received by the ministry regarding the NMC's lack of transparency and bias in favour of doctors at the expense of patients.
The minister was responding to a question from AIADMK MP Dr M. Thambidurai, who inquired about reports that doctors are being favoured and the NMC lacks transparency.
However, Dr Babu said the NMC clearly misled the ministry when it denied that doctors are being favoured, as the ministry had sought its response to a parliamentary question.
"I had written to NMC’s ethics committee on the issue on June 22, 2025. I had also communicated with the ministry in July 2022 regarding bias against patients. But still NMC responded to the query from the ministry on July 18 that no reports have been received in the Ethics Division of NMC," Dr Babu told TNIE.
After the minister's response in parliament, Dr Babu shot another RTI, pointing out that NMC was misleading the ministry and the parliament.
Responding to his RTI, the Union Health Ministry, in its September 19 response, said, "With reference to your representation, it is informed that the matter is being examined in consultation with NMC as per statutory provisions."
"It is clear from the documents availed using RTI about the reply in the Parliament and the communications from EMRB that NMC clearly misled the ministry and the parliament regarding the right to appeal by patients. They are still continuing the illegality of rejecting appeals to the EMRB against State Medical Councils (SMC) decisions even after parliament's reply in July."
"What is also shocking is that the EMRB/NMC did not seek any legal opinion regarding the enforceability of ethics regulations 2002 regarding appeals by patients and thereby rejected 162 such appeals and continued the illegality," he added.
"Hope in view of my representation to the health ministry, they will put an end to this illegality. It has been five years on September 25 that NMC took office. Since then, it has been rejecting the appeals from patients illegally," the Kerala-based ophthalmologist added.
The NMC, earlier this year, overturned its earlier verdict of rejecting patients’ and their relatives’ appeals to approach the EMRB. However, it continued to deny patients’ appeals.
According to the NMC Act 2019, medical professionals can appeal against SMC decisions under Section 30 (3) if they are found guilty of medical negligence. If the EMRB finds their act to be punishable, medical practitioners can make a second appeal under Section 30(4) of the NMC Act.
But patients don't have that right despite clause 8.8 in the NMC Act, which was added on May 27, 2004, following the Supreme Court directions.
As per clause 8.8, any person aggrieved by the decision of the SMC on any complaint against a delinquent physician shall have the right to file an appeal to the MCI within 60 days from receipt of the order passed by the MCI.
However, the clause was removed when MCI was dissolved and NMC came into being. To rectify these lacunae, the Union Health Ministry decided to amend the NMC Act 2019 by inserting sections allowing patients to appeal. The proposal was published for comment on December 29, 2022, but it was not enacted, in clear violation of the patient's right.
