RUSHAD T UDWADIA Vs. MAHARASHTRA MEDICAL COUNCIL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner who is a Medical Practitioner has impugned in this petition the show-cause notice dated 2nd February, 1987 issued by respondent No. 1 i. e. Maharashtra Medical Council which is annexed as Exhibit "k" to this petition. By the said petition, the petitioner has also impugned the communication dated 12th October, 1987, which is annexed as Exhibit "s" to this petition whereby the respondent No. 1- Medical Council had rejected his application to disallow Dr. Lalmalani to participate in the inquiry as a member of the Maharashtra Medical Council.

(2.) THE brief facts leading to the present petition are as follows:

(3.) IT is the case of the petitioner in his reply dated 23rd February, 1987 annexed as Exhibit "l" to this petition filed with the Registrar of Medical Council and in this writ petition that the issue of show-cause notice by the Medical Council was not justified on the merits of the case as the petitioner had not committed any negligence while performing operation on the respondent No. 2. Secondly, it is alleged by the petitioner that the show-cause notice, though could not have been issued on the merits of the complaint but the same was issued at the instance of Dr. Lalmalani who was the member of the Medical Council at that time. According to the petitioner there was enmity between the petitioner and the said Dr. Lalmalani which started at the time of strike by Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) which took place in July, 1984 and continued for a considerable length of time. The petitioner had vehemently opposed the said strike at the General Body Meetings held at RMOs Quarters during the period between July and August, 1984 while Dr. Lalmalani the then President of the said Association of Doctors being MARD was in favour of the continuation of the said strike. At these meetings there used to be verbal clashes between the two and considerable heat and friction was generated between them when Dr. Lalmalani had threatened the petitioner on several occasions by saying that he would ruin the petitioner and would destroy his professional career. On behalf of the petitioner, therefore, objection was raised that the said Dr. Lalmalani be not permitted to participate in the inquiry as he had been directly or indirectly interested in the case and, therefore, had bias against the petitioner. This objection was raised as a preliminary objection which was rejected by the Medical Council in its meeting held on 26th September, 1987 and was communicated to the Advocate of the petitioner by the Registrar of the respondent No. 1 Council by the letter dated 12th October, 1987. In the said communication it was also intimated to the petitioner that the Council had resolved to proceed in the said inquiry suo motu. That decision seems to have been taken by the majority of the members of the Council. The petitioner has impugned the decision of the Council taken on 26th September, 1987 and communicated to him by the letter dated 12th October, 1987 which is annexed as Exhibit "s" to this petition.