Gujarat Medical Council Vs NMC: State Council asks apex body to revoke relief to Jailed Cardiologist, cites threat to public health
Gujarat Medical Council
Ahmedabad: After the National Medical Commission (NMC) stayed the order of the Gujarat Medical Council's (GMC) order suspending the cardiologist at Ahmedabad's Khyati Multispeciality Hospital, who was accused of being involved in the PMJAY scam, the latter has now written to NMC defending its decision in the matter.
The state medical council has requested the Apex Medical Regulator to "immediately" vacate its stay on the Council's order dated November 28, 2024, through which, Dr. Prashant Vazirani, was suspended for three years.
The doctor was accused of conducting "completely unnecessary" angioplasty surgeries on residents of a village in Mehsana, as part of "the wider conspiracy" to cheat the state exchequer under the PMJAY scheme.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that last year in November, two patients, who attended a free medical camp organised by Khyati Hospital under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), passed away due to postoperative complications following Angioplasty procedures.
This incident caused widespread outrage as an angioplasty was performed at the hospital on 19 patients, and two of them died, while 5 others were kept on ventilation. These 19 people were brought to Khyati Hospital by ambulance for treatment after they attended the free health checkup camp in Borisna village of Kadi taluka on November 10. Around 80 to 90 people were examined at the camp.
Also Read: PMJAY Botched Angioplasty Case: Court denies bail to Khyati Hospital Director
Following this, three FIRs were registered, two at the behest of the kin of the deceased and one by a doctor from the Government-appointed panel. During the investigations, it was revealed that the hospital performed unnecessary angioplasty procedures on several PMJAY cardholders just to siphon off government money. The inquiry committee constituted by the State government in its preliminary probe found that the deceased did not require the heart procedure.
Dr Prashant Vazirani was the doctor who reportedly carried out the said surgeries. Following this, he was arrested along with hospital CEO Rahul Jain, marketing director Chirag Rajput, marketing executive Milind Patel, and his two assistants, Pankil Patel and Pratik Bhatt, and directors Rajshree Kothari and Sanjay Patolia.
Following his arrest, the medical council decided to debar his registration for three years in November 2024. Challenging this decision, Dr Vazirani filed an appeal to the NMC in December 2024. The appeal is still pending a final decision, and the next hearing will take place at the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the NMC.
Meanwhile, in an order dated April 10, 2025, NMC stayed the GMC order debarring the registration of Dr. Vazirani. The NMC referred to a previous 2022 judgment by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court in a similar case, saying that immediate action could cause “irreparable harm” to the doctor before his appeal is fully heard.
"The Authority considered his (Dr Vazirani) appeal and is of the opinion that irreparable harm or prejudice will be caused to the appellant if the said order is allowed to be implemented pending hearing of the Appeal," NMC mentioned in the stay order.
"Accordingly, after due deliberations, it has been decided to stay the operation of the (GMC) order till the matter is heard and decided by the Ethical and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) and an order passed thereon," it further mentioned.
GMC Defends its Decision:
While NMC has granted a stay on the Gujarat Medical Council order, the latter on April 24 wrote to the Apex Medical Commission and requested the regulator to "immediately" vacate the stay granted to Dr. Vazirani in "public Interest".
It mentioned that if the stay continues, "it will pose a significant threat to public health and undermine trust in the medical regulatory framework."
As per the latest media report by the Indian Express, the GMC letter to NMC further mentioned, "the allegations against Dr Vazirani and Khyati Hospital are prima facie of a very serious nature. It has been revealed that unwarranted angiography and angioplasty surgeries were performed on unsuspecting villagers in order to illicitly claim benefits under the PMJAY scheme. This constitutes a serious fraud against the government."
Further, the GMC letter to the Commission, signed by the Honorary Registrar Dr Chetan Patel elaborated on the findings of the expert committee's report, based on which the State had filed its FIR against the nine accused in the case.
It also included passages from the chargesheet filed against Dr. Vazirani and mentioned, "To date, he (Dr Vazirani) remains in judicial custody and has not been granted bail."
Terming NMC's decision to grant a stay on the GMC order shocking, the Gujarat Medical Council mentioned that the top medical regulatory decided to grant the stay without hearing the Gujarat Government through the department concerned as well as without calling for case-related documents from the State council.
Apart from Dr. Vazirani, GMC had also suspended the medical registrations of two doctors- Dr Sanjay Mulji Patolia and Dr Shaileshkumar Amrutlal Anand in this PMJAY scam. The three-year suspension orders on the medical registrations of Dr Patolia and Dr Anand came into effect from February 11, 2025. While Dr. Patolia is a Bariatric Surgeon and Director of Ahmedabad Bariatrics and Cosmetics Pvt Ltd, the holding company of Khyati Multispeciality Hospital; Dr Anand is the former General Manager of the PMJAY scheme in Gujarat.
Also Read: NMC stays debarment of cardiologist jailed in Khyati Hospital Scam
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