Dr. Kishore Joshi vs State Of Uttarakhand And Others

Sharad Kumar Sharma, J

In the present writ petition, the petitioner has sought for a prayer of his registration with respondent no.3, in terms of the provisions contained in Uttaranchal Medical Council Act, 2002. The condition of registration with respondent no.3 is contained under Chapter 3 of the said Act of 2002, which stipulates the conditions which a candidate is required to be holding to be registered having an eligible qualification and other conditions as recognized by the Uttaranchal Medical Council Act, 2002, before he could be registered with it.

Admittedly, in the case at hand, the petitioner after acquiring the necessary required qualification, he had initially got himself registered with the Delhi Medical Council, but later on, as per the argument as extended by the learned counsel for the petitioner, as well as, by the learned counsel for the respondent, the registration as granted by the Delhi Medical Council, to the petitioner was not renewed within the stipulated time frame as provided therein under the terms of registration, and thus the registration granted to the petitioner by Delhi Medical Council stood expired.

Subsequently, the petitioner, who is a Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon at the Heart Surgery Unit, being run in the Coronation Hospital, Dehradun in a PPP modes in collaboration with Fortis Escort Hospital, had submitted an application before respondent no.3, in accordance with Chapter 3 of the Uttaranchal Medical Council Act, 2002 for getting himself registered with respondent no.3.

On submission of the said application, respondent no.3 after scrutinizing the application of the petitioner and finding that prior to the submission of the application, submitted before respondent no.3 by the petitioner, for registration, since the petitioner stood earlier registered with the Delhi Medical Council, he was asked for to submit his "No Objection Certificate" from the said council, but in a peculiar circumstances which has emerged in the instant case is that, when the registration of the petitioner stood expired with the efflux of time in 2011, with the Medical Council at Delhi, and as a consequence thereto, his name was removed from the registered of medical practitioners. Hence, in such an eventuality, the condition for registration as imposed by respondent no.3 for submission of "No Objection Certificate" from the earlier Council with which the petitioner was registered could not be fulfilled by the petitioner because for grant of "No Objection Certificate" from the Medical Council of Delhi, a candidate has had to be an existing registered practitioner with the earlier Council. According to the petitioner, if the period or term of registration has expired he could not be treated registered with the council and no, "No Objection Certificate" was being issued.

It has been argued by the learned counsel for the respondent that though under the Act or the regulations framed, thereunder for the purposes of requiring a registration with respondent no.3, there is no such statutory stipulation contemplated under the Act or Regulations calling for "No Objection Certificate" from the previous Council, with which the petitioner/applicant is registered with, but the said practice has been followed by respondent no.3 calling for submission of the "No Objection Certificate" prior to the registration with the Council, it is just measure adopted to safeguard, that no such candidate or medical practitioner is registered who was earlier registered with the other Council and who had been subjected to any disciplinary proceedings for any act of professional misconduct and also that earlier council has no objection in grant of registration with respondent no.3. In reply to it, learned counsel for the petitioner submits at bar, based on instructions of the petitioner that during the tenure when the petitioner stood registered with the Delhi Medical Council, there had been no proceedings drawn for any of his professional misconduct and no proceeding was ever initiated or concluded against him and his entire carrier as a consequence of the registration with the Medical Council of Delhi was absolutely unblemished.

In such an eventuality where the statute do not contemplate filing of any "No Objection Certificate", the precaution which has been exercised by the respondent no.3, while registering the candidates, like the petitioner and of the like nature of that petitioner's, the "No Objection Certificate" could not be submitted by the petitioner, because of the aforesaid reasons already discussed above. But looking to the very purpose for submission of the "No Objection Certificate" and in a very peculiar circumstances of the case and an exception deserves to be carved to pave a middle way to consider the application of the petitioner in the circumstances which has developed in the present case, this writ petition is being disposed of with the direction to respondent no.3 to take an undertaking from the petitioner by way of notarized affidavit, pertaining to any proceeding of misconduct had ever been initiated against him or not and what was the consequence of that and as to whether he was ever punished for any of his professional misconduct in that past.

Subject to the submission of the said undertaking by way of notarized affidavit, the application for registration submitted by the petitioner before respondent no.3, would be taken into consideration and the same will not be rejected on the ground that he has been able to supply the "No Objection Certificate" from the previous medical council with which he was registered. However, it is made clear, at this juncture itself that this direction to consider the application is only as an exception to the nature of the case which has been involved herein under peculiar circumstances. As a consequence of consideration of the application for registration and if respondent no.3 grants a registration, and later on, it is reflected at any point of time or found out that the petitioner was held guilty of any professional misconduct in any proceedings held during her registration with the previous Medical Council and has not been narrated in the notarized affidavit to be filed by him, the registration would be treated to be cancelled automatically.

Subject to the above observation, the writ petition stands disposed of directing the respondent no.3 to consider the application for registration subject to the condition that he satisfies the qualification Clause and the "No Objection Certificate" would not be forced to be submitted for the purposes of considering the application subject to the submission of notarized affidavit as directed above.

The affidavit which has been directed to be filed as above, it is submitted by the petitioner pertaining to his misconduct would also include an assertion pertaining to the period from 2011 onwards till the application is considered by the respondent no.3, there had been no act of professional misconduct, reported against him.

Subject to the above observations, the present writ petition is disposed of.

However, there would be no order as to costs.