Delhi Medical Council Reconstituted: Four Members Appointed After Year-Long Gap
The Delhi Chief Minister's Office announced on Wednesday the appointment of four members to the Delhi Medical Council (DMC), more than a year after the regulatory body was dissolved over allegations of administrative and financial irregularities.
According to a post on X, the Delhi government has appointed Dr. Ajay Kumar, Dr. Hansraj Baveja, Dr. S. K. Tandon, and Dr. Vinod Kumar Monga as members of the council. The CMO stated that these appointments aim to strengthen Delhi's health system by enhancing the council's effectiveness in maintaining quality, transparency, and medical ethics.
The DMC was dissolved on June 17, 2025, by then Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena. Since then, the council had not been reconstituted, leading to significant delays in doctor registrations. At the time of dissolution, the LG allowed two ex-officio members to continue temporarily and assigned the registrar role to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) for the interim. The Health department was directed to reconstitute the council within two months under the Delhi Medical Council Act, 1997.
In December 2025, a special audit was ordered to investigate allegations that the DMC had collected approximately Rs 28 crore in recent years without proper audit or fund segregation. The committee has also been examining whether recovery can be made from the personal accounts of Dr. Girish Tyagi, who previously served as acting registrar and held both president and vice-president positions. Dr. Tyagi has since filed a case in the Delhi High Court seeking to quash a government order directing him to vacate his post.
The DMC, established in 1998, is responsible for maintaining a live register of medical practitioners, enforcing a code of medical ethics, and initiating disciplinary action against practitioners for malpractice. It also ensures that unqualified persons do not practice modern medicine.
Dr. Naresh Chawla, who was acting president of the DMC when it was dissolved, questioned the relevance of the new appointments, noting that the announced members are nominated. He pointed out that elections for the council were held on May 31, 2026, but no notification has been provided to elected members. The DMC comprises 24 members: 10 nominated from medical colleges, 8 elected, and the rest selected by the Delhi government and other regulatory bodies. Dr. Chawla emphasized that the council has not functioned for over a year, impeding its role in handling medical negligence cases and registrations.
