West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) election held in 2018 is unlawful and fresh polls will have to be conducted to form the new committee.
Dissolving the WBMC justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharya of Calcutta High Court, today directed that an ad-hoc committee would be formed to look after only financial issues of the council till the election is held. The committee won’t take any decisions on matters related to issuing or cancelling registrations of doctors.

The committee would also be in charge of holding the elections.The WBMC election, held in 2018, was unlawful, the high court said, directing the ad-hoc committee to take administrative charge of the council on and from 1 August. The new committee of the council would be formed in November after the election.
The court has also categorically directed that the results of the elections would have to be announced by October. Doctors belonging to the opposition group of ruling Trinamul Congress’ medical fraternity had brought charges of large-scale irregularities in WBMC election process in 2018. They alleged that names of some dead doctors were found in the voters’ list. In many areas envelops without ballot papers were sent to voters-cum-doctors.
Joint Doctors Forum (JDF), a platform of different doctors’ bodies, moved the high court seeking justice against the irregularities in the medical council election. The court had issued a stay-order directing the old committee formed before 2018 to continue till the matter is solved legally.

“We are happy with the court directive and our fight against the irregularities in the WMBC election got a victory finally. The WBMC headed by Nirmal Majhi had made its election a farce using his political power in 2018. Now, our demand is to hold new elections under the supervision of the court,” said Dr Manas Gumta, secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors (AHSD).
Trinamul Congress MLA Dr Nirmal Majhi had been heading the old committee since 2018.
The high court judgment is a major setback to the ruling Trinamul Congress.
“It’s a historic judgment dissolving the state medical council headed by Dr Nirmal Majhi,” said Dr
Kunal Saha, NRI doctor based in the USA, who on behalf of his organization People for Better Treatment (PBT) had also moved the court against the WBMC in 2018.