After turning away hundreds of complaints from patients for over five years, citing that only doctors can appeal to the National Medical Commission (NMC) regarding decisions made by state medical councils, the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the commission has now referred the matter to the health ministry.
On May 20, the EMRB issued an office memorandum stating that the NMC Act was enacted by the central government, and any interpretation of its provisions should be undertaken by the ministry. This shift follows consistent pressure from Dr. Babu KV, an ophthalmologist and RTI activist from Kerala, who has been advocating for clarity on the issue. He has repeatedly alerted the health ministry that Section 8.8 of the Medical Council Ethics Code 2002, which is still in effect, permits patients and the public to appeal to the NMC against State Medical Council (SMC) decisions.
Dr. Babu argues that the EMRB’s rejection of patients’ appeals has been illegal and has sought accountability for 27 NMC members involved in the decision to dismiss these appeals, referencing Section 1.9 of the ethics code. This section states that “the physician shall observe the laws of the country in regulating the practice of medicine and shall also not assist others to evade such laws.”
The EMRB contended that while the 2002 ethics code is operational, Section 30(3) of the NMC Act of 2019 takes precedence over it. This section specifies that a medical practitioner or professional who is aggrieved by any action taken by a State Medical Council may appeal to the EMRB. A meeting of the NMC in October 2021 interpreted this section to mean that only medical practitioners may file appeals before the EMRB, and this interpretation was approved unanimously.
Dr. Babu pointed out that the word “only” was added by the NMC and is not present in Section 30(3). He asserts that neither the NMC Act nor its specific sections prohibit patients from filing appeals. His communications on this matter, including a January 2026 email to the health ministry demanding accountability for NMC members, were forwarded by the medical education policy division to the NMC’s policy and coordination division. This detail was disclosed in the EMRB’s May 20 office memorandum, obtained through an RTI request.
Notably, the NMC’s website indicates that the five-member EMRB remains largely empty, with only one part-time member in place. This raises questions about the decision to shift the responsibility to the health ministry while the board in question lacks sufficient membership to act on such matters.
