After more than two years without a governing body, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) is set to elect a new committee, with elections scheduled for April this year. The state government announced that voting will take place on April 3 through a secret ballot at district headquarters under the supervision of district collectors.

The 18-member MMC, a quasi-judicial body overseeing medical education and ethics in the state, has been without a committee since August 7, 2022, when its previous term expired. Dr Pallavi Saple, Dean of Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, was appointed as administrator for a year following the dissolution. After her term ended on October 9, 2023, additional charge was handed to Dr Dilip Mhaisekar, Director of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER).

Subsequently, Dr Vinky Rughwani, former MMC Vice President, was appointed as administrator and expedited the council's registration services.

According to an official from the medical education department, nine of the 18 committee members will be elected. The deadline for filing nomination papers is February 18.

The MMC regulates medical education and ethics for approximately 1.8 lakh registered doctors and processes around 9,000 new registrations annually. However, the absence of a committee has led to a backlog of medical negligence cases and delays in routine council functions. Currently, nearly 500 medical negligence cases await hearings.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India recently flagged MMC’s failure to renew the registration of nearly 40% of doctors in Maharashtra. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also raised concerns, approaching the Bombay High Court over delays in essential MMC functions, including doctor registrations, medical negligence hearings, and permissions for Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs.

“We welcome the elections as the absence of a committee has significantly impacted MMC’s functioning,” said a former MMC member. “Medical negligence cases need to be addressed in a time-bound manner. It is unreasonable to expect one person to handle the workload of an 18-member committee.”

The delay in CME permissions has caused logistical challenges, with organizers often receiving approvals just 24-48 hours before events. Doctors seeking no-objection certificates to move to other states or countries have also faced delays.

“The MMC elections are a crucial step toward restoring efficiency and addressing the backlog of pending cases,” the former member added.