The failure to seek a legal opinion to understand the rules of appeal has led to the National Medical Commission (NMC) rejecting patients’ complaints of medical negligence and misconduct against doctors.

If the NMC, which regulates medical education, medical professionals, institutes, and research, had sought legal opinion, as many as 162 patients’ complaints against doctors about medical negligence would not have been rejected.

The NMC had internally discussed the patients’ right to appeal against erring doctors on three occasions, but always allowed doctors’ appeals to be heard, and rejected patients’ appeals.

However, the NMC Act does not prohibit patients from filing an appeal to the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), said RTI activist Dr K V Babu, who filed a series of RTIs seeking the minutes of the NMC meeting on their decision. The EMRB regulates professional conduct and promotes medical ethics in the country to redress complaints.

According to the documents made available using RTI, the Kerala-based Dr Babu said, “It is seen that the right to appeal by the patients was discussed in three NMC meetings – October 6, 2021, May 1, 2024, and September 23, 2024.”

He said, “Shockingly, in the fourth NMC meeting held on October 6, 2021, it was decided that ‘only medical practitioners or professionals should be allowed to file an appeal before the EMRB, and patients should not be allowed to file an appeal before the EMRB under section 30 (3) of the NMC Act 2019’.”

Dr Babu told TNIE, “It is clear that NMC misinterpreted NMC Act section 30 (3) in its 4th meeting.” Even after it was decided in the 16th meeting of the NMC, which was approved on December 10, 2024, that all appeals received by EMRB will be entertained, the ethics body continued to reject appeals.

Dr Babu said, “The right to appeal of patients should be reinstated without further delay.”