Doctor practices while suspended, Punjab Medical Council complains to cops but revokes suspension

The Punjab Medical Council (PMC) restored the licence of a surgeon who continued to practice while under suspension. This, despite having urged the police to act against the doctor on the grounds that doing so was illegal. Yet, the National Medical Commission refuses to take up the patient's complaint against this decision of the PMC.

The PMC declined to reveal if the suspended surgeon fulfilled the conditions its ethics committee had recommended for him to be allowed to resume practice - a root cause analysis of the death of two patients who he operated on, and a certificate showing that he had got himself trained in laparoscopic hysterectomy.

TOI asked PMC why its Dec 2024 order restoring the licence of Dr Praveen Devgan cited the high court order of Nov 20, 2024 when the court had not ordered restoration of licence. In response, it produced yet another council order dated April 25, 2025, which claimed that the decision to restore the licence was taken in the general body meeting on Sept 25, 2024 after receiving an application from Dr Devgan at the end of the six-month suspension period. PMC was mum on Dr Devgan continuing to practice during the period of suspension.

"The case filed by Dr Devgan in July 2024 against his suspension was still pending on Sept 25. How did PMC take a decision to restore his licence before the court had decided the case?" asked the complainant, Gokul Aneja, who has alleged medical negligence in the death of his wife Sunita Aneja. She was diagnosed with multiple fibroids and underwent laparoscopic hysterectomy by Dr Parveen Devgan on Oct 1, 2018.

Dr Devgan's petition in HC was "disposed of as withdrawn" on Nov 20 last year because he had moved an application seeking to withdraw the petition. The court had neither stayed his suspension nor examined its merits.

In PMC's general body meeting held on July 21, 2023 "all the council members unanimously decided that Dr Parveen Devgan failed to demonstrate due skill and care towards patients". PMC's final order on Dec 21, 2023, suspended his registration for six months and debarred him from practice. The order cited the ethics committee' recommendations. These included that he be restrained from performing any laproscopic procedure in his own hospital or in any other hospital till he submitted a root cause analysis of the deaths, done by a higher institute like PGI Chandigarh doing and imparting training in laparoscopic hysterectomy, and that he get trained in laparoscopic hysterectomy from a recognised institute and submit the certificate to PMC. The committee stated that Dr Devgan should be initially restrained for a minimum of six months that could be extended further till he complied with the two conditions of root cause analysis and certificate of training.

When Dr Devgan applied to Fortis Hospital, Noida for training in laparoscopic hysterectomy along with other procedures in laparoscopy, the hospital informed him that he could not be trained in laparoscopic gynae procedures "as by NMC guidelines you do not possess required qualification of post-graduation in Obs & Gynae". "It is unethical and unlawful for a general surgeon to do gynaecological training or procedures as he/she does not have the required qualification to do so," stated the hospital letter in May 2024.

On receiving information that Dr Devgan was practicing despite suspension of licence, civil surgeon of Amritsar inspected the hospital on April 5, 2024, and found that he was performing operations. She informed the PMC and the police in Amritsar. The PMC urged the commissioner of police in Amritsar to take action as practising while his licence was suspended was illegal, and against the Punjab Medical Registration Act and the National Commission Act.
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