Conduit Council- MCI

[Nutan Thakur]

Ketan Desai is in news again. This time for the huge capitation fee
sting operation by the Times of India in two of the Tamil Nadu based
Medical colleges. Interestingly, it has been found that in addition to
being the President of the Medical Council of India, he was also in
the board of both these disgraced institutions.
Going in the past, we come to know that in May 2001, the Delhi high
court had asked the then MCI president Ketan Desai to step down on the
ground that his term as council member was already over and elections
were approaching. Desai's continuance in the office was challenged on
the ground of holding two memberships - one of the council and other
of the University of Gujarat. As per MCI rules, he can not continue as
president while holding two positions. When it could not get complied
with for certain reasons, this head of the urology department of the
prestigious B J medical college, Ahmedabad was again removed as the
president on charges of corruption by the Delhi High Court in November
2001. This was generally welcomed by the medical community.
At that time, Dr Arun Bal, secretary of Forum for Medical Ethics,
welcomed the HC verdict and said it was long overdue. "Everybody knew
he was corrupt, but no doctors or doctors' associations came forward
to demand that he step down. What is worse is that the Indian Medical
Association has made him their national president despite the fact
that he was under a cloud for a long time." He had also asked the
election procedure for MCI to be changed.
An Income tax raid on the residence of Dr Desai was also conducted in
2000 where he had reported Rs five crore as undisclosed income and
gifts of Rs 65 lakh. The Delhi High Court in addition to removal had
also directed the CBI to initiate prosecution proceedings against him
for his involvement in corrupt practices as the division bench of
Justice Arun Kumar and Justice R C Chopra had found Dr Desai guilty of
misusing his official position and observed that the apex body for
doctors was a den of corruption.
In another case, a division bench of the Uttaranchal High Court
comprising Chief Justice A A Desai and M C Jain had already passed an
order restraining Dr Desai from participating in the functioning of
the MCI on a petition filed by Dr Suresh Upadhyaya alleging that Dr
Desai had accepted donations for affiliation of medical colleges and
recognising medical degrees as also in admitting and passing medical
students.
The Supreme Court had stayed further proceedings in the writ petition
before the Uttaranchal High Court on a petition filed by the Centre
seeking transfer of the proceedings from the Uttaranchal High Court to
the Delhi High Court as a similar petition was pending before the
Delhi High Court and it would be appropriate that both the petitions
were hired and disposed off by the Delhi High Court to avoid
conflicting verdicts.
In a recent article titled “Is Ketan Desai king of capitation fee?” by
the TOI (8 Jun 2009) it says- “He has had a vice-like grip over the
Medical Council of India (MCI) for almost 20 years now.”
There are an estimated 2,500 countrywide ‘management quota’ seats
available in MBBS colleges, where despite an explicit Supreme Court
ban on capitation fee, a rate on the upper side of Rs 20 lakh per seat
is being sought making it a staggering Rs 500 crore annually. This
business is completely in the hands of Dr Desai. The TOI Article shows
the influence of Dr Desai through various examples of how ministers
and Prime ministers have been lying in queue to have a meeting with
him. After 2001, he controlled the MCI through his nominees till he
returned as chairman in March 2009, after winning a prolonged legal
battle. The Article shows how people like former state health minister
Ashok Bhatt and former Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss tried
to curtail and regulate his and MCI’s powers but failed miserably.

Dr Sunil K Pandya from Mumbai and. Dr Samiran Nundy of Delhi, who are
waging a long-battle for enforcement of medical ethics wrote an
Article “Dr Ketan Desai and the Medical Council of India: Lessons to
be learnt” where they said- “As is common knowledge, elections to our
national and state-level medical councils are fought with just one
aim: to enrich oneself personally. Expenditure of huge sums; a total
lack of scruples; political connections; a compulsive desire to grab
power by any means, both fair and foul and finally, ruthless pursuit
of the goal of personal enrichment are absolute necessities.” He
estimated the expense on the election of Presidentship to be around
one crore rupee at that time, which must have gone by many times now.
They had wished that- “The workings of these councils must be totally
transparent both to members of the medical profession and to the
public at large.” and that- “Honest, dedicated and sincere doctors
must be encouraged to stand as candidates to these councils.”
One hopes things actually start moving the way people like Dr Pandya
and Dr Arun wish. Till that time, it is the day of the Desai.

Dr Nutan Thakur
Editor,
Nutan Satta Pravah,
Lucknow