SC sets up RM Lodha Panel to oversee functions of Medical Council of India

The Supreme Court has appointed a three-member high-powered committee headed by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) RM Lodha to oversee the functions of the Medical Council of India (MCI).
Ruling in this regard was given by the SC Bench comprising Justices Anil R Dave, A K Sikri, R K Agrawal, Adarsh K Goel and R Banumathi.
Key facts

• Other two members of the panel are Vinod Rai, former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and Dr SK Sareen, Director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences.
• The committee is tasked to oversee all statutory functions under the Medical Council of India (MCI), Act. The MCI is the statutory regulator of medical profession and education in India.
• The committee will function till the Union Government puts in place a new mechanism for regulation by bringing a new legislation or amending the statute.

SC Ruling

• MCI had repeatedly failed in its duties and the quality of medical education in the country was at its lowest ebb.
• The regulator is often been accused of indulging in corrupt practices and referred it to reports of a government panel and a parliamentary standing committee.
• It was not able to spearhead any serious reforms in medical education and neither represented the professional excellence nor its ethos.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2016