JUDGMENT :

DIPANKAR DATTA, J.

1. Leave granted.

THE APPEAL

2. The present appeal stems from a judgment and order dated 24th August 2023 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Patna¹[High Court] in L.P.A. No. 1608 of 2017, whereby the Division Bench, in exercise of its intra-court appellate jurisdiction, allowed the appeal preferred by the Medical Council of India²[MCI] (since substituted by the National Medical Commission³[NMC]) and set aside the judgment and order dated 20th September 2017 passed by the Single Judge in C.W.J.C. No. 13547 of 2016, thereby restoring the order of penalty dated 21st July 2016 passed by the Ethics Committee of the MCI⁴[Ethics Committee], which had directed removal of the name of Dr. Nigam Prakash Narain⁵[Dr. Narain] from the Indian Medical Register for a period of three months. The challenge to such judgment and order is at the instance of Dr. Narain.

FACTUAL MATRIX

3. Facts giving rise to the lis are as follows:

3.1. Dr. Narain is a paediatrician. He holds a Ph.D. in Paediatrics and M.R.C.P. from the Royal College of Physicians, London, and has been registered as a medical practitioner with the Bihar Council of Medical Registration since the year 1976. H