Supreme Court directs state to hold fresh elections for new medical council

New Delhi: Refusing to stay the order of the Telangana High Court, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Telangana Government to conduct the elections of the council within 3 months for 13 members.

In its order, the Telangana HC bench had asked the State Government for conducting the polls for the medical council without increasing the number of the state-sponsored nominees.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the plea before High Court had been filed by Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA). The association had raised the issue of not conducting Telangana State Medical Council (TSMC) elections since 2007. Apart from this, the association had also pointed out the illegal continuation of nominated members for more than a decade as interim ad-hoc body and reduction of elected members from 13 to 5.

In its plea before HC, HRDA had challenged the Government Order on conducting elections for Telangana Medical Council (TSMC) after lowering the number of elected representatives.

After considering the arguments, the HC bench had declared the Interim Telangana State Medical Council to be "legally untenable" as it struck down the Government Order by which the State had reduced the number of elected members in the Council from thirteen to five.

Also Read: Current Telangana State Medical Council is legally untenable, hold fresh elections for new council: HC

With this , the HC bench comprising of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice C.V.Bhaskar Reddy had restored the previous ratio of having more elected members and less nominated members and directed the State for completing the fresh election process of the council within a period of three months.

The three-month time period granted by the High Court for holding the election was over by April 30, 2023, and challenging the HC order the State had approached the top court bench seeking a stay.

However, the Supreme Court bench refused to stay or pass any interim order on the Telangana HC order and directed the State for conducting the election within three months. Therefore, the only relief that the State has managed to get from the Apex Court is an additional three months of time for conducting the polls.

Previously the counsel for HRDA, Mr. Sama Sandeep Reddy had argued before the HC bench that the last time when elections were held to the Medical Council was in the year 2007, after which no elections have been held. He submitted that now the Interim Medical Council, which is a purely adhoc body, is holding the office for more than six years since the year 2016.

He argued that an Adhoc body cannot continue for an indefinite period. He submitted that G.O.Rt.No.15 dated 06.01.2016, by which the Interim Telangana State Medical Council comprising of four registered medical practitioners had been constituted cannot be sustained.

Further referring to the fact that the number of elected members in the Medical Council has been reduced from thirteen to five, he argued that while the State may be justified in reducing the number of elected members proportionately with the number of medical practitioners, it is not open to the State at the same time not to proportionately reduce the nominated or the ex officio members.

Therefore, in an indirect manner, the government is running the show and thus undermining the autonomy of the Medical Council, argued the counsel for the association.

Apart from this, it was argued that in the Medical Practitioners Registration Act, the number of elected members was mentioned as thirteen. Therefore, even though under Section 101 of the Reorganization Act, 2014, the provisions of the Medical Practitioners Registration Act has been adapted and made applicable to the State of Telangana, any substantive amendment to the Medical Practitioners Registration Act would require legislative sanction.

No such amendment can be made by an executive order and therefore, G.O.Ms.No.68 dated 03.08.2015 cannot be sustained, the counsel for HRDA had contended. By the concerned G.O, the Section 3(2) of the Medical Practitioners Registration Act was amended and the number of elected members of the Medical Council was reduced from seven to five members.

Referring to the Supreme Court order, HRDA has mentioned in a recent Tweet, "Another big achievement to HRDA and blow to Govt of Telangana & Telangana State Medical Council in Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in SLP Diary No 9848 of 2023."

"Supreme Court of India today refused to stay or pass any interim order on Hon’ble High Court of Telangana order in WP No 1111/2019 and WP No 10240/2023 pertaining to conducting of elections for electing 13 members to Telangana State Medical Council. Supreme Court also directed Govt of Telangana and Telangana State Medical Council to conduct elections within 3 months from today that too for 13 members," the association further mentioned.

Also Read: State lowers number of elected members of Medical Council, Telangana HC seeks compilation of court orders