NRI turns heat on WBMC to cancel medicos’ licences

Kolkata : A US-based Indian doctor, who is fighting a crusade against medicos here responsible for the death of his wife, has threatened to sue the West Bengal Medical Council of India (WBMC) if they did not immediately cancel registration of two top city doctors who were reportedly held guilty of medical negligence by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

“…in view of the findings by the MCI, I request you to take appropriate steps for immediate cancellation of the license of these two doctors who are registered with this Council.

“It may be pertinent to mention that on August 7, 2009, the Hon’ble Supreme Court also found these two doctors responsible for the wrongful death of my wife,” Dr Kunal Saha, husband of the deceased, wrote in a letter to West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) on Sunday.

Saha said the MCI had held two top Kolkata doctors, medicine specialist Dr Sukumar Mukherjee and dermatologist Dr Baidyanath Halder, guilty of “professional misconduct” causing death of US-based child psychologist, Anuradha Saha, during her social visit to India in 1998.
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?The MCI will decide the quantum of punishment (cancellation of license) of these two doctors. MCI also found the third doctor, Dr Abani Roychowdhury, negligent but decided to remove his name from the parties as Dr Roychowdhury passed away last year,?? he claimed in a letter to IBNS.

?I am planning to bring a ‘criminal’ case for conspiracy to obstruct justice (under IPC Section 120) against all the members (including president Dr. Ashok Chowdhury) of the WB Medical Council who deliberately acquitted these doctors in 2002 in order to sawy the course of the process of justice,?? he said in the letter.

The litigant had earlier said in a letter to the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court that the writ petition against Dr Ashok Chowdhury and ‘his ‘cronies in the West Bengal Medical Council’ were lingering in the court for quite some time.

In a historic judgement on August 7, 2009, the Apex Court overturned the decision by the National Consumer Forum (NCDRC) and held four top Kolkata doctors (Sukumar Mukherjee, Abani Roychowdhury, Baidyanath Halder and Balaram Prasad) and AMRI Hospital solely responsible for causing wrongful death of Anuradha Saha.

From a simple skin rash (as allergic reaction to some drugs), Anuradha died in India because of the alleged negligent medical treatment by the senior doctors.

MCI has the appellate authority under Section 8.8 of “Code of Ethics and Regulations” over all state medical councils.