President Pratibha Patil dissolves Medical Council of India

NEW DELHI: President Pratibha Patil on Saturday signed the ordinance dissolving the Medical Council of India. The health ministry on Friday had issued the ordinance to dissolve the MCI.

For the time being, the MCI is to be replaced by a 7-member expert committee.

The decision to dissolve the MCI came after its president Ketan Desai was arrested April 22 by the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI), for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2 crore to recognise a medical college in Punjab though it did not meet MCI standards. His resignation was forwarded to the health ministry on Wednesday.

"We are examining what can be done," Health Secretary Sujatha Rao said on Friday. The MCI was set up by an act of parliament in 1956, she explained, adding that it did not empower the government which has to work within "a certain legal framework".

"The government should have power to give directions to the MCI for what it has to do. If they do something wrong, we can take action," Rao said, speaking to media persons. Since such a crisis was never witnessed before, the government "is examining what can be done", she added.

Commenting on the increasing corrupt practices in medical bodies, Rao said a clean-up was needed in all councils. "None of the councils is working properly," she said.

However, she assured that the interests of students will not be affected in any way.

The MCI, a statutory body tasked to oversee the standards of medical education in India, grants recognition to medical degrees, gives accreditation to medical colleges, registers medical practitioners and monitors medical practice in the country.