THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a two-year legal and investigative battle, the General Practitioners Association (GPA) has finally succeeded in getting a man arrested for working as a doctor as well as a nurse in multiple hospitals without the required qualifications.
Jobin Babu, of Perambra, was arrested by the Ambalavayal police in Wayanad. He allegedly forged his credentials to secure jobs in several hospitals in Kozhikode and Wayanad. The arrest followed the Kerala High Court’s admission of a writ petition filed by the GPA, which highlighted systemic failures in identifying and prosecuting unqualified medical practitioners.
Though the arrest has come as a relief to the GPA and the medical community, doctors expressed concern that Jobin had been attending to patients unchecked for years. Jobin had falsely claimed to have earned an MBBS degree from Pariyaram Medical College.
It was his estranged wife, a registered doctor, who lodged a complaint with GPA’s anti-quackery cell, alleging that he had been misusing her registration number to forge credentials. “We submitted evidence to the police and the district medical officer two years ago. Still, he was allowed to continue practising. He was so brazen, he didn’t even attempt to escape,” said Dr Ashik Basheer, the GPA state president.
Dr Basheer also pointed out another disturbing case of a medical college dropout who, after being exposed in Mavelikara, simply relocated to Idukki and resumed his illegal practice. Such cases, he said, underscored the urgent need for a regulatory framework to identify and eliminate impersonators.
The GPA said the authorities took action only after it moved the HC seeking a mechanism to report and prevent medical impersonation. The writ petition specifically criticised the Kerala State Medical Council (KSMC) for its inaction and lack of oversight. “The KSMC refused to acknowledge complaints initially. It only started responding after we named them as a respondent in the case,” Dr Basheer said.
Though the KSMC has the power to register and regulate clinical practitioners in Kerala, it is yet to establish an effective process to identify and act against quacks. Dr Harikumaran Nair G S, president (modern medicine) of KSMC, did not respond to repeated calls from TNIE.As per rules, only those registered with the KSMC - the body that succeeded the Travancore-Cochin Medical Councils - are permitted to practice modern medicine in Kerala.