New Delhi: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has heard 185 appeals filed by doctors challenging decisions of state medical councils but has rejected all 256 appeals filed by patients or their relatives since the regulator came into existence in September 2020, according to data obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The disclosure highlights a stark disparity in access to appellate remedies under the country’s top medical regulatory body. While doctors have been able to challenge disciplinary actions at the national level, patients alleging medical negligence or professional misconduct have been denied a hearing altogether.
RTI data shows that between September 2020 and January 2026, the NMC’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) admitted and processed 185 appeals filed by medical professionals against rulings of state medical councils. During the same period, it returned every one of the 256 appeals submitted by patients or their kin without examining them on merit.
The commission has followed this practice consistently since October 2021, effectively leaving patients with no national appellate forum under the NMC framework.
The EMRB has cited Section 30(3) of the NMC Act, 2019 to justify its refusal to hear patient appeals. The provision refers to appeals by “medical practitioners or professionals” against state medical council orders.
Based on this wording, the board has taken the position that only doctors can file appeals, despite the section not explicitly barring patients from doing so. This interpretation has formed the basis for returning all patient appeals received over the last five years.
The issue came into sharper focus following a complaint by ophthalmologist and RTI activist K V Babu, who alleged that the commission’s interpretation of the law was flawed and exclusionary.
“This selective reading of the Act has denied patients any appellate remedy at the national level for more than five years,” Babu told TOI. He alleged that the Ethics and Medical Registration Board had “illegally inserted the word ‘only’” while interpreting Section 30(3) to argue that appeals could be filed exclusively by medical practitioners.
Babu also urged authorities to initiate action against NMC members responsible for enforcing the policy since October 2021, calling it a violation of legislative intent and patient rights.
According to the RTI response, the health ministry has recently asked the NMC to consider hearing appeals filed by patients or their relatives against decisions of state medical councils in cases of alleged medical negligence.
The NMC Act does not explicitly prohibit patients from filing appeals, and similar provisions under the earlier Medical Council of India allowed public appeals. A draft amendment to the NMC Act, released for public consultation in December 2022 and approved in 2023, includes provisions allowing patients and their relatives to appeal state council decisions before the EMRB.
However, the amendment has not progressed beyond approval, effectively leaving patients with no legally backed avenue to challenge state medical council decisions at the national level.
(Rh/ARC)
