Doctors move HC seeking reinstatement of former WBMC Registrar

Kolkata: In a recent development, a group of doctors has submitted a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Calcutta High Court, demanding the reinstatement of Dr Manas Chakraborty as the registrar of the West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) until a new registrar is appointed. 

In the plea filed on Monday before the Division Bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, the doctors urged the court to allow Dr Chakraborty to continue in his role to prevent disruptions in the Council’s operations. The petitioners argued that his absence is affecting the Council’s regular functioning, including crucial administrative work.

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In addition, the court was apprised that the Council had already published a recruitment notice for the post of one registrar and assistant registrar. Further, the matter is expected to be taken up for a hearing next Thursday, reports Millennium Post.

It is to be noted that Medical Dialogues had previously reported that Dr Chakraborty was directed to voluntarily resign from his position on January 31. A division bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya also cautioned Chakraborty that unless he himself resigns by 5 p.m. on Friday (January 31), he will be removed from the position by the court.

Accepting the order, Dr Chakraborty stepped down from his role. The court gave this direction following the observation that he had been occupying that chair for five years even after his retirement. It also questioned how he could continue in that chair for such a long time without approval from the state government. 

Although Chakraborty’s term as the West Bengal Medical Council Registrar ended in November 2019, he continued occupying the chair even after that. As per the provision of the Bengal Medical Act, 1914, the prior approval of the state government is necessary for the extension of anybody’s term in that chair – a practice which was not followed in the case of Chakraborty.

Chakraborty also faced criticism for issuing a show-cause notice to Asfaqulla Naiya, a prominent figure in the junior doctors’ movement over the R.G. Kar rape and murder case. Naiya was accused of conducting private practice as an ENT specialist without possessing the necessary degree.

A police investigation was also started against Naiya. However, a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court earlier this month had provided him with an interim shield against any coercive police action against him, including arrest.

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