Bombay HC reinstates medical officer suspended over birth certificate irregularities

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has quashed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) order suspending a medical officer over alleged irregularities in the issuance of birth certificates, observing that the civic body acted in "undue haste" and failed to follow the mandatory procedure prescribed under its service rules.

Allowing the doctor's petition, a Division Bench directed the BMC to reinstate him in service and pay his full salary for the period during which he remained under suspension.   

The case relates to allegations of irregularities in the issuance of nearly 87,000 birth certificates. According to the petition, the doctor had served in the L Ward until April 4, 2025, after which he was transferred to the H-East Ward dispensary.

The petitioner argued that although Kurla Police registered an FIR on January 10, he was neither named as an accused nor were any allegations made against him in the case. However, the BMC suspended him on May 7, with retrospective effect from May 4. 

During the hearing, the BMC contended that the suspension was issued under the relevant provision of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Service Rules, 2015, and that a preliminary inquiry was not required before passing the suspension order.

The High Court, however, disagreed, holding that the provisions governing suspension and preliminary inquiry must be read together and that the mandatory procedure had not been followed before suspending the doctor. 

According to TOI, the judges said, “it is apparent from the sequence of events that an undue haste has driven” the BMC to suspend the doctor on May 7. Referring to his submission, they noted that he was suspended after a first chargesheet and preliminary enquiry (PE) for minor punishment was dropped on March 9, and approval was given for imposing major punishment requiring a full-fledged departmental enquiry. The doctor was issued a fresh chargesheet on April 28. However, the record revealed no PE was conducted. While partly allowing his petition, the judges said the BMC can commence PE, “if the new chargesheet is to be taken to a logical end.