Fortis Shalimar Bagh negligence case: Delhi HC deadline to NMC, DGHS to submit report on doctors' qualifications
New Delhi: In the latest development in the decade-old Fortis Shalimar Bagh medical negligence case, the Delhi High Court has asked the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Delhi, to submit a joint inquiry report within two weeks on the medical qualifications of the two accused doctors.
A HC bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna passed the order on October 30 while hearing a contempt petition filed by the mother of the child, on behalf of her minor son.
In May 2026, the Court had directed NMC and DGHS to conduct a joint inquiry and to file a Report as to the qualifications of the concerned Doctors. Referring to this, the HC bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna mentioned in the order dated October 30, 2026, "A Contempt Petition under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act read with Article 215 of the Constitution of India has been filed for willful disobedience of the Order dated 29.05.2026 in CONT.CAS (C) No.999/2026, whereby the Respondent was directed that the Secretary, National Medical Commissions and DGHS to conduct a joint inquiry and to file a Report as to the qualifications of the concerned Doctors in regard to the W.P.(C) 15/2020, within a period of eight weeks."
"Considering the totality of circumstances, the Respondent is directed to submit a Report within two weeks, failing which the concerned Officers shall appear in person," the bench ordered, while listing the matter for further hearing on December 16, 2026.
According to a The Hindu report, the petition stated that the child suffered severe brain damage "after being mishandled by two unqualified doctors (misrepresenting as super-specialists) in the Neonatal ICU of Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh."
It has been claimed in the plea that the child is now in a permanent vegetative state and suffers from West Syndrome, epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Further, the plea stated that the child now continues to experience severe pain and suffering.
Back in March 2025, the HC bench had sought affidavits clarifying whether the qualifications claimed by the two doctors "are qualifications entitling these Respondents (doctors) to undertake specialisation practice in this country." Again, in May 2026, the bench had directed the NMC and DGHS to conduct a joint inquiry into the matter and submit a report within 8 weeks.
Highlighting that the authorities have failed to fulfil the directions issued by the Court, the complainant filed a contempt plea, which mentioned that the deadline of July 24, 2026 has passed and the authorities have neither submitted any report nor sought any extension of time.
"The matter concerns the qualifications of doctors treating critically ill newborns. The NMC, being the statutory regulator, is duty-bound to ensure transparency and accountability, and its continued failure to place a clear and conclusive report before this Court raises serious questions regarding its fairness and credibility and that of its officers. The DGHS has likewise failed to discharge the joint duty cast upon it by this Court," stated the contempt petition.
To view the HC order, click on the link below:
https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/2026/11/02/delhi-hc-order-481835.pdf
Case Background
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported on the case involving the two concerned doctors, who had been accused of medical negligence while treating a child. Filing a plea before the Delhi High Court, the child's mother had alleged that negligence by those two treating doctors, Dr. Jain and Dr Singh, left her son bedridden for life. It was alleged that even though the doctors claimed to be specialists and super specialists, they did not hold the requisite qualifications.
The petitioner's plight started in August 2017 when her son suffered brain injury in the said hospital. The injury became known after several months when the child grew. The child was born at Fortis in August 2017 and was initially declared unwell by the hospital immediately after the delivery through C-section.
It was submitted by the complainant that the hospital had treated the patient for 12 days in the ICU and discharged him based on a wrong medical summary stating that he was normal. However, allegedly, the child was not healthy and later turned into a vegetable in the next 7 months.
Filing the plea in 2019, she had informed the Court that the child was suffering from unabated Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy along with "West Syndrome".
The petitioner had alleged that the treating doctors had concealed the facts, and due to this, the child remained deprived of any medical treatment and kept suffering infantile spasm/seizures for more than seven months at home till his brain got completely damaged. This ultimately rendered the child permanently disabled, both mentally and physically. An FIR was also lodged in this case in 2019.
Earlier, while considering the matter, the Delhi HC bench headed by Justice Yogesh Khanna had directed the National Medical Commission (NMC), Delhi Medical Council (DMC), and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to look into post-graduate degrees of those two doctors, who were working as Child specialists/super-specialist at Fortis Hospital in Delhi.
NMC's response:
In response, NMC had informed the Court that those 2 senior doctors of Fortis Hospital did not have the recognised qualification to be called a child specialist. The Commission had informed that it did not even have the additional qualification of another doctor making him a neonatologist and therefore, the Commission had requested the Court to get it from the Delhi Medical Council.
Addressing the issue of Dr. Singh, NMC had admitted before the Court that he had obtained registration by the Delhi Medical Council only based on his MBBS qualification. According to NMC, except for MBBS, Dr Singh’s all other qualifications were unrecognised. "...there is no Additional Qualification Registration granted to Dr Singh on the basis of which he could be considered as a specialist," NMC had informed the Court.
Regarding Dr. Jain, NMC submitted that the medical council granted registration for his MBBS degree and additional registration for his Membership of MRCPCH, but the Commission was only aware of his MBBS degree. Back then, NMC had also stated that primarily registrations are granted by the State Medical Councils on their State Medical Registers and requested the Court to examine DMC's affidavit to find out if additional registration norms had been complied with.
DMC Action:
Thereafter, addressing the complaint, the Delhi Medical Council wrote to the Medical Superintendent of the Fortis Hospital and ordered these two doctors to refrain from claiming the status of neonatologist and practising as super specialists. The Council issued this direction after noting that as per the information available with it, these two doctors did not have the required medical qualification to be called specialists.
DMC had informed that while Dr. Singh is registered with the Council holding only an MBBS qualification, the other doctor, Dr. Jain, is registered with DMC holding MBBS and MRCP qualifications.
Therefore, considering the material on record and the information received from the UK General Medical Council regarding Dr. Jain, the Delhi Medical Council Executive Committee had opined that pending further inquiry, both doctors "should refrain from claiming neonatologist status and practicing as super-specialists." The Council had further added that the credentials of these two doctors as qualified paediatricians are also pending inquiry.
In October 2025, the Supreme Court also issued notice to the hospital.
While the matter initially focused on the treatment provided to the child, it later widened into a dispute over the credentials of the doctors involved and whether they were permitted to practise as super-specialists under Indian medical regulations.
Court records show that the issue surrounding the doctors’ qualifications has been under examination for several years. In March 2025, the Delhi High Court had directed authorities to clearly state whether the qualifications claimed by the doctors allowed them to undertake specialised medical practice in India.
Even though the Delhi Medical Council informed the court that the two doctors should refrain from describing themselves as neonatologists or super-specialists, the question of whether their qualifications were valid for specialist practice remained unresolved.
