High court asks state government to probe whether government doctors doing pvt practice

The high court was hearing a writ petition filed by Dr Arvind Gupta, head of the department and professor at the state-run Moti Lal Nehru Medical College

The Allahabad high court has directed the state government to conduct an inquiry to find out whether government doctors appointed in medical colleges are carrying on private practice at nursing homes and medical shops.

The court took a serious note of the alleged involvement of a professor of a state medical college in a private hospital (HT Photo)

Terming it a serious matter, the court also directed the principal secretary, medical education and health, U.P, to inform the court as to whether a head of the department and professor at Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj, who is a petitioner in the present case, is entitled to practise at a private nursing home or not.

The high court was hearing a writ petition filed by Dr Arvind Gupta, head of the department and professor at the state-run Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj. Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal directed to put up this case on January 8 for the next hearing.

In the present case, Rupesh Chandra Srivastava had filed a complaint before the consumer forum over the wrong treatment allegedly given to the complainant by the petitioner Dr Arvind Gupta at Phoenix Hospital, a private nursing home in Prayagraj district. Later, the matter reached the state consumer forum.

The counsel for the petitioner pleaded before the high court that the claim of the complainant was of medical services, which amounted to ₹1890 only and was not cognizable before the state consumer forum.

However, the court took a serious note of the alleged involvement of a professor of a state medical college in a private hospital. “The basic question, which needs to be addressed at the outset is, as to whether Dr Arvind Gupta, head of the department and professor Motilal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj (Allahabad), can give any treatment to any patient in a private nursing home in the city of Prayagraj (Allahabad) being in the services of state government and holding the post of head of department and professor in state medical college,” the court said.

Issuing the above directives to the state counsel, the court in its order dated January 2 further directed that on the next date the counsel for the petitioner shall also address the court as to how the petitioner had given treatment to the complainant in a private nursing home known as Phoenix Hospital, Prayagraj.