MCI did not give Grounds for Suspension: Doctors Suspended For Unethical Drug Trial tell court

"The court had also directed MCI to submit on record the deliberations of the ethical committee which decided the matter. However, it was not submitted by them," -- Advocate Amol Shrivastava, Counsel for the four doctors

Indore: Claiming that the Medical Council of India (MCI) had not mentioned any provisions violated by the doctors and had not submitted the deliberations by the ethical committee, four doctors who were suspended for conducting unethical clinical drug trial have approached the Indore bench of High Court, seeking further relief.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that via its order dated July 26, 2017, the MCI removed the doctors from the Indian Medical Register for 3 months as they were found guilty for violating Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. It was alleged that the doctors conducted drug trial on poor patients under the pretext of treatment.

The concerned case goes back to the year 2010, when a number of complaints had been received by the apex council about unethical drug trials taking place in MP, which were undertaken on around 2000 unsuspecting patients. It was alleged that 81 patients had shown side effects and 35 had allegedly died during the trials.

Read Also: MCI Suspends 8 Doctors on Unethical Drug Trial in MP

However, during a hearing before the High Court, the doctors have alleged in their petition that the MCI misused the rules and regulations in an old case of the drug trial and issued orders against them without giving chance to present their side.

Those who faced the MCI axe included, Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital (MYH) superintendent Dr VS Paul, former superintendent Dr Ramgulam Rajdan, Dr Anil Bharani ( Professor) and Dr Ahish Patel (assistant professor) of general medicines department, paediatricians Dr Hemant Jain (currently superintendent of Chacha Nehru Children Hospital), Dr Ujjawal Sardesai, Dr Pali Rastogi and Dr Abhay Paliwal ( psychiatry department).

TOI states that the submission regarding the MCI's report was made before the court through a rejoinder submitted by Dr Rastogi, Dr Paliwal, Dr Pal and Dr Sardesai.

The medical council, however, stayed firmly on its stand and stated, "Procedure has been followed… It was a case of the clinical drug trial and, therefore, the challenged order has rightly been passed."

"The court had also directed MCI to submit on record the deliberations of the ethical committee which decided the matter. However, it was not submitted by them," advocate Amol Shrivastava counsel for the four doctors told TOI

The court had granted a stay on the operations of the order through an interim order passed in September 2017.

Justice Rohit Arya ordered for the petitions to be listed analogously for the next hearing which will be held after summer vacations adds the daily

Read Also: MP: HC stays MCI order suspending registration of 6 doctors