Chapter II ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNCIL

(1) With effect form such date as the Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette notify, there shall be constituted for the purposes of this Act a Council to be called "the Delhi Medical Council". (2) The Council shall be a body corporate, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, whether movable or immovable, and to contract and to do all things necessary for the purposes of this Act, and may by the name aforesaid sue or be sued. (3) The Council shall consist of the following members, namely:— (a) four members having registerable qualification as prescribed in the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956) to be nominated by the Government; (b) one member from each medical college established by law in Delhi having a medical faculty, elected by members of the medical faculty of that college from amongst its permanent members of teaching faculty; (c) nine members to be elected by registered practitioners from amongst themselves including one member elected by the Delhi Medical Association: Provided that no registered practitioner shall be entitled to vote or stand as a candidate foe election, unless: (I) he is a citizen of India; and (ii) he either resides or carries on his profession or is employed in Delhi; (d) Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Delhi as ex-officio member; and (e) Director of Health Services of the Government as ex-officio member. (4) The President and Vice-President shall be elected by the members from amongst themselves. (5) The election of the members, and of the President and Vice-President, shall be held at such time, and at such place, and in such manner, as may be prescribed. (6) If at any election, the electors fail to elect the requisite number of members, of the President or the Vice-President, the Government shall nominate members from amongst persons qualified to be elected as members of the respective category, as it deems fit to fill in the vacancy or vacancies; and the persons so nominated shall be deemed to have been elected for the period till such time the vacancies are filled in on regular basis under this section. (7) Where any dispute arises regarding any election of a member or of the President or Vice-President, it shall be referred to the Government, and the decision of the Government shall be final. (8) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3)— (a) in respect of the constitution of the Council for the first time under this Act, the members thereof shall be nominated by the Government from amongst persons qualified to be elected or nominated as members of the respective category; and (b) the members so nominated shall hold office for such period not exceeding three years in the aggregate as the Government may, by notification in the Officer Gazette, specify.

(1) A casual vacancy in the office of the President or the Vice-President or a member elected under Clause (b) of sub-section (3) of Section 3 or Clause (c) of said sub-section, shall be filled by election: Provided that any such vacancy in the office of an elected member occurring within six months prior to the date on which the term of office of all the members expires, shall not be filled. (2) A casual vacancy in the office of a member nominated under Clause (a) of sub-section (3) of Section 3 or sub-section (8) of that section shall be reported forthwith by the Registrar to the Government, and shall, as soon as possible thereafter, be filled by the Government by nomination. (3) Any person elected under sub-section (1) or nominated under sub-section (2) to fill a casual vacancy shall, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (8) of Section 3 or Section 4, hold office only so long as the person in whose place he may be elected or nominated, as the case may be, would have held office, if the vacancy had not occurred.

(1) The President or the Vice-President may at any time resign his office by a notice in writing addressed to the Council and delivered to the Registrar. The registration shall take effect from the date on which it is accepted by the Council or on the expiry of sixty days from the date of the delivery of the notice, whichever event occurs earlier. (2) An elected member may, at any time, resign his office by a notice in writing addressed to the President. A nominated member may at any time resign his office by a notice in writing addressed to the Government and delivered to the Registrar. Every such resignation shall take effect from the date on which it is accepted by the President or, as the case may be, the Government or on the expiry of sixty days from the date of the receipt of the notice, whichever event occurs earlier.

(1) A person shall be disqualified for being elected or nominated as, and for continuing as, a member— (a) if he is an undischarged insolvent: or (b) if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or (c) if his name has been removed from the register and has not been re-entered therein; or (d) if he is a whole-time officer or servant of the Council; or (e) if he has been convicted for an offence involving moral turpitude. (2) If any member absents himself from three consecutive meetings of the Council, without leave of the Council granted under sub-section (7) of Section 4 or without such reasons as may, in the opinion of the Council, be sufficient, the Council may declare his seat vacant and take steps to fill the vacancy. (3) If any member becomes, or is found to be, subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in sub-section (1), the Council shall submit a report to the Government, and the Government, if satisfied about the disqualifications, shall declare his seat vacant.

(1) The meetings of the Council shall be convened, held and conducted in such manner as may be prescribed. (2) The President, when present, shall preside at every meeting of the Council. If at any meeting the President is absent, the Vice-President, and in the absence or both, some other member elected by the members present from amongst themselves, shall preside at such meeting. (3) All issues at a meeting of the Council shall be decided by a majority of members present and voting. (4) The presiding authority at a meeting shall have and exercise a second or casting vote, in case of an equality of votes. (5) Eight members (including the President and Vice-President) shall form a quorum. When a quorum is required but not present, the presiding authority shall, after waiting for not less than thirty minutes for such quorum, adjourn the meeting to such hour or some future day as it may notify on the notice board at the office of the Council; and the business which would have been brought before the original meeting had there been a quorum thereat, shall be brought before the adjourned meeting, and may be disposed of at such meeting or any subsequent adjournment thereof, whether there be a quorum present, or not.

(1) The proceedings of every meeting of the Council, shall be treated as confidential; and no person, shall, without the previous resolution of the Council, disclose any portion thereof: Provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit any person from disclosing or publishing the text of any resolution adopted by the Council, unless the Council directs such resolution also to be treated as confidential. (2) No disqualification or defect in the election or nomination of any person as a member, or as the President or as the Vice-President, or as a presiding authority of a meeting shall by itself be deemed to vitiate any act or proceedings of the Council in which such person has taken part, if the majority of persons who are parties to such act or proceedings, were entitled to vote. (3) During any vacancy in the Council, the continuing members may act, as if no vacancy had occurred. (4) Any act done by the Council shall not be questioned on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in or any defect in the constitution of the Council.

Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by or under the provisions of this Act, the powers, duties and functions of the Council shall be— (a) to maintain the live register and to provide for the registration of medical practitioners; (b) to hear and decide appeals against any decision of the Registrar; (c) to prescribe a code of ethics for regulating the professional conduct of practitioners; (d) to reprimand a practitioner, or to suspend or remove his name from the register, or to take such other disciplinary action against him as may, in the opinion of the Council be necessary or expedient; (e) to exercise such other powers, perform such other duties and discharge such other functions, as are laid down in this Act, or as may be prescribed; (f) to receive complaints from public (including patients and their relatives) against misconduct or negligence by a medical practitioner, to proceed for inquest, take a decision on the merits of the case and to initiate disciplinary action or award compensation and similarly to take action against frivolous complaints; (g) to provide protection to its members in discharging professional duties; (h) to ensure that no unqualified person practices modern scientific system of medicine.

(1) The Council shall, as soon as may be, constitute an Executive Committee consisting of the President as ex-officio member and such other number of other members, elected by the Council from amongst its members, as may be prescribed. (2) The term of office of, and the manner of filing casual vacancies among, and the procedure to be followed by, the members of the Executive Committee shall be such as may be prescribed. (3) In addition to the powers, duties and functions conferred, imposed and entrusted by this Act, the Executive Committee shall exercise such powers, perform such duties, and discharge such functions of the Council as may be delegated to it by rules or entrusted to it from time to time, by the Council. (4) The President shall be the ex-officio Chairman of the Executive Committee.

There shall be paid to the President, the Vice-President and other members of the Council, and to the members of its Executive Committee, such fees and allowances for attendance at meetings, and such reasonable travelling allowance, as shall from time to time be prescribed.

(1) The Council shall, with the previous sanction of the Government, appoint a Registrar and/or a Deputy Registrar. He shall be a qualified medical graduate as prescribed in Schedules I, II and III of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956). (2) The Executive Committee may, from time to time, grant leave to the Registrar: Provided that if the period of leave does not exceed one month, the leave may be granted by the President. (3) During the temporary vacancy in the office of the Registrar due to leave or any other reasons, the Deputy Registrar, shall act as Registrar. In case of non-availability of Registrar and Deputy Registrar the Executive Committee may, with the previous sanction of the Government, appoint another person to act in his place, and any person so appointed shall for the period of such appointment, be deemed to be the Registrar for the purposes of this Act: Provided that, when the period of such vacancy does not exceed one month, the appointment may be made by the President, who shall forthwith report such appointment to the Executive Committee and the Government. (4) The Council may, with the previous sanction of the Government, suspend, dismiss or remove any person appointed as the Registrar, or impose any other penalty upon him in the manner as may be prescribed. (5) Save as otherwise provided by this Act, the salary and allowances and other conditions of service of the Registrar shall be such as may be prescribed. (6) The Registrar shall be the Secretary and the Executive Officer of the Council. He shall attend all meetings of the Council, and of its Executive Committee, and shall keep minutes of the meetings and names of members present and of the proceedings of such meetings. (7) The accounts of the Council shall be kept by the Registrar, in the prescribed manner. (8) The Registrar shall have such supervisory powers over the staff as may be prescribed, and may perform such other duties and discharge such other functions as may be specified in this Act, or as may be prescribed. (9) The Registrar shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).