HC ‘Unimpressed’ With Odisha Govt’s Process To Identify Fake Doctors Sans Timeline

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has directed the state government to file a fresh affidavit to supplement its claim to complete the survey for ascertaining that every allopathic doctor, practising in Odisha, possesses proper and relevant qualifications within the assigned period.

On December 21 last year, the court had given the government six months to complete the exercise while hearing a PIL filed by Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA). Accordingly, the Odisha Health and Family Welfare Department issued a directive to all CDMOs in the state to identify all such doctors and verify their educational certificates. However, the department did not set a time frame for the process, which irked the High Court.

“Since the affidavit is silent on the precise timeline for completion of the various steps involved in the exercise, a direction is issued that a supplementary affidavit be filed setting out the precise timelines within which the entire exercise will be completed,” a division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice MS Raman said on Friday.

The government has been asked to file the supplementary affidavit by February 20. The court has fixed June 22 to take stock of the progress of the verification of medical practitioners in the state.

Amicus curiae Gautam Mishra told the court that it had information about fake doctors treating patients in Malkangiri, Rayagada, Ganjam and Mayurbhanj districts. He suggested a comprehensive online database of all medical practitioners in Odisha, which the general public can access to ascertain their genuineness.

While the bench recommended implementation of the amicus curiae’s suggestion, Health secretary Shalini Pandit, who attended the hearing virtually, assured the online database will be created as part of the exercise for verification of the medical practitioners.

According to World Bank’s survey report, 51 per cent of the doctors treating patients in different states were found to lack adequate educational qualifications.