HC Asks Odisha Govt For Details On Mechanism To Identify Fake Doctors

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has directed the state government to submit details of the step taken to detect fake doctors and curb the menace of quackery.

The two-judge bench of Justices Subhasis Talapatra an Savitri Ratho enquired if there was any surveillance mechanism to identify fake doctors and sought to know the measures proposed against the establishments run or collaborated by them, while taking stock of the progress the state government had made to ascertain the exact number of allopathic doctors in the state practising without having valid qualifications.

In December last year, the court had asked the government to come up with a comprehensive plan under which a survey will be undertaken to ascertain that every allopathic doctor practising in Odisha possesses proper and relevant qualifications, as part of the adjudication of a PIL  field by Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) in 2019.

Accordingly, on January 25, the state government filed an affidavit stating that the survey will be completed within six months.

When the matter came up for hearing again on Thursday, amicus curiae Gautam Misra urged the court to direct the government to file an affidavit on the status of implementation of the steps and also contended that it should also apprise the court whether there is any surveillance mechanism to trace the fake doctors.

Following which, the bench directed the state government to file an additional affidavit before the matter is listed again on August 3, giving details about implementation of the steps assured.