Increase polling stations in future Maharashtra Medical Council Elections: HC

Mumbai: With the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) elections just two weeks away, the Bombay High Court on Friday accepted the state's argument that adding more polling booths at this stage would be difficult. However, the court directed the MMC to increase the number of booths in future elections to ensure better voter participation.

Refusing to interfere with the upcoming MMC election scheduled for April 3, since it was too late to make changes now, the division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale orally observed, "The process of having more polling centres will have to be set in motion for the next elections so that there is better participation of voters."

The court was hearing a petition filed by Dr. Sudhir Naik and seven other doctors, who challenged the election over concerns of low voter turnout. The petition highlighted that the polling is scheduled for a weekday and has limited centres, which could hinder many doctors from casting their votes.

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The Maharashtra Medical Council officially announced the elections to select nine new council members. It will take place at each district headquarters under the supervision of the District Collector on Thursday, April 3, 2025, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

During the hearing, the bench agreed with the petitioners that there should be more polling booths. The doctors' lawyers, Mihir Desai and Rui Rodrigues, argued that the current booth count was too low following which the HC stated that adding more polling stations would help increase voter participation.

When the idea of holding the election on a Sunday was suggested, Additional Government Pleader Jyoti Chavan pointed out that previous MMC elections held on Sundays saw poor voter turnout—only 13 and 23 per cent. However, Chavan explained that the state could not make last-minute changes, such as creating a new voter list or finding more centres, due to logistical challenges. She clarified that the state was not taking it as adversarial litigation but simply could not accommodate the changes so close to the election date, TOI has reported.

Acknowledging the logistic challenges that will be faced if changes are made at the last minute, the HC accepted the state's submission and directed the state to submit an affidavit by April 24 with a "positive solution" to the issue raised.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that concerns were growing among doctors regarding the fairness and transparency of the process with the upcoming Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) elections drawing near. The MMC, a quasi-judicial body that regulates the medical profession and holds the power to suspend or revoke doctors' licenses, was facing legal scrutiny over its electoral procedures.

A medical practitioner from New Panvel filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the state medical education department, the MMC, and returning officer Shilpa Parab on various grounds, including the preparation of the electoral list and the returning officer's eligibility.

The petition raised multiple concerns, including the preparation of the electoral list and the eligibility of the returning officer. Citing Rule 6 of the MMC regulations, the petitioner argued that the returning officer must hold a position no lower than that of an undersecretary to the government. Additionally, the petition demands the inclusion of doctors whose registrations have not been renewed.

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