Pune: Two radiologists face one year jail for clerical mistakes in Form F

Pune  : Just a few days after the radiologists deferred their nation wide strike after assurances for the government, two radiologists practicing in the city of Pune have been sentenced to a one year imprisonment for clerical mistakes in form F and other clerical lapses under various sections of PC-PNDT act.

Radiologists Dr Rajesh Kankal and Dr Viren Kulkarni, who was the former head of the Pune Radiology Association have been given the said punishment on account of various lapses in maintaining records under the Act. Not only this, they have been directed by the Judicial Magistrate to pay fines of Rs 18,000 and Rs 16,000 respectively, failing which, they would have to undergo imprisonment for ten more days, reports Indian Express.

This comes after a case was registered under them in the year 2011, for lapses and irregularities in maintaining records, in particular the Form F, Dr Vaishali Jadhav, the appropriate authority for implementing the PCPNDT Act in Pune informed the daily.

The agitated doctors have sought for a bail and are going to move the higher court, opposing the judgement.

"Mistakes were made by the clerical staff, and not us. How could the PMC pull us up based on that? Now we will file petitions in higher courts to redress our grievances," said Dr Kulkarni.

He added, "At that time, the PMC appropriate authority had examined 1,278 forms and found only clerical mistakes."

"Nowhere does it show that there is any misuse of the ultrasound machine to determine the sex of the foetus. A majority of radiologists are protesting mainly against these draconian provisions of the Act and now we are facing the music just because of inadvertent clerical mistakes," he added.

Ironically, this was the main reason opposing which 13,000 radiologists across the country had called for a strike. The strike was deferred only after the government had assured that the amendment calling for a graded punishment, and not equating the clerical mistakes to the crime of sex determination will soon come into effect.

With this event, the radiologists of the city have again sprung  back into action.A set of meetings would now take to determine what the next course of action would be taken by the doctors.