Mumbai: Supreme Court has rejected a last-minute petition by the state govt to cancel the April 26 Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) elections. The state sought to avert the polls on a committee’s recommendation to eliminate elected positions within the council.Currently, the council comprises nine members nominated by govt and nine representatives elected by doctors. Last week, the state proposed amendments to the act governing the MMC for appointment of members through a nomination process instead of elections. Though the move was intended to do away with elections at MMC in coming years, the state moved to accelerate that timeline by seeking cancellation of the April 26 poll.However, amending the MMC Act still requires an ordinance. The court’s decision has brought relief to the medical community. Doctors say the state wants to abolish the elected council to facilitate entry of homoeopaths in modern medicine. Former MMC member Dr Suhas Pingle said, “The govt can now delay the nomination of other members to not allow the elected council to function. This will create a situation where the council cannot be formed as per rules even as there are elected representatives.”This was what happened in 2009. “Nominated members are political appointments and there were 100s who wanted those few seats. We had to approach the court back then and even after the court’s order, it took the then govt two years to nominate members,” said Dr Pingle.Multiple doctors’ bodies are expected to move the court again if a similar situation arises. Medical education secretary Dheeraj Kumar remained unavailable for comment.The new proposed MMC framework would consist of a president, four ex-officio members from govt departments, two registered medical practitioners, and six members with established standing or experience in medical education, clinical practice, public health, medical ethics, hospital administration, health policy, health economics, and law.
