Supreme Court appointed RM Lodha-panel to reform Medical Council of India

The Supreme Court of India on 2 May 2016 appointed a three-member panel headed by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) RM Lodha to oversee the functions of the Medical Council of India. It is the regulator of medical profession and education in India.

Besides Lodha, the panel consists of former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai and Dr SK Sareen.

The court appointed the panel as the MCI is often been accused of indulging in corrupt practices. 

The court referred to reports of a government panel and a parliamentary standing committee that indicted the MCI for various malpractices.

A parliamentary committee report also quoted that the MCI was repeatedly found short of fulfilling its mandated responsibilities, medical graduates lacked competence in performing basic healthcare tasks. Instances of unethical practices continued to grow. The MCI was not able to spearhead any serious reforms in medical education.

Earlier, RM Lodha headed a three-member panel appointed by the top court to look into the 2013 betting scandal in the Indian Premier league (IPL) and the functioning of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and also headed the committee appointed to sell assets of Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd (PACL) and refund 49 thousand crore rupees to the investors.

Now get latest Current Affairs on mobile, Download # 1 Current Affairs App