Disciplinary proceedings cannot punish on new charge without fresh show-cause notice after original charge dropped, breaching natural justice; courts may reduce penalty under Article 142 considering delay and circumstances.

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. He served as a faculty member in the Department of Paediatrics, Patna Medical College, Patna⁶[PMC] since 1985, attaining the position of Professor and Head of the Department of Paediatrics from which he superannuated on 30th September 2014.

3.2. Post his retirement from the PMC, Dr. Narain was appointed as Professor, Department of Paediatrics, at Shridev Suman Subharti Medical College & Hospital, Dehradun⁷[SSSMC] on 3rd January 2015⁸[vide appointment letter bearing Ref. No. JNSCT/2015/01/1596]. Pursuant to this appointment, on 22nd January 2015, an MCI inspection was conducted at the SSSMC, wherein Dr. Narain appeared as faculty of the said institution before the Inspecting Team of the MCI.

3.3. In the meanwhile, Dr. Narain received an offer to rejoin the PMC as Professor on a non-cadre post of Professor on contractual basis. Accordingly, Dr. Narain submitted his resignation to the SSSMC vide letter dated 6th April 2015 and stood formally relieved from service vide relieving certificate dated 7th April 2015⁹[Bearing Ref. No. JNSCT/2014/04/310]. On the very same date, i.e., 6th April 2015, the Bihar Government, Health Department, issued a notification for the contractual appointment of Dr. Narain at the PMC. Dr. Narain joined the PMC on contractual basis on 10th April 2015, in pursuance of the office order of even date issued by the Principal, PMC.

3.4. Prior to the seed of the lis, i.e., the surprise inspection scheduled to be conducted by the MCI at the PMC on 5th May 2015, Dr. Narain had, on 21st April 2015, signed a Declaration Form (which was co-signed by the Head of the Department, Paediatrics, and the Principal of the PMC on 27th April 2015) and left the same with the Principal for safekeeping, to be produced before the Assessors of the MCI at the time of the surprise inspection. It is the admitted position that the said Declaration Form did not contain any mention of Dr. Narain’s short stint at the SSSMC during the same academic year.

3.5. On 5th May 2015, the MCI conducted a surprise inspection at the PMC. Dr. Narain, however, was not present in the country on the date of the inspection. He had applied for and granted Ex-India leave for six days from 4th May 2015 to 9th May 2015, to attend the 48th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Haematology and Nutrition¹⁰[