PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has issued a notice to Dr Ravi P. Teja regarding allegations of medical
negligence.
The notice, returnable by 11 February, comes in response to a writ petition filed by Advocate Moses Pinto against the Goa Medical Council and other parties, including Dr Teja, after complications arose from a medical procedure.
“Dr Teja, who conducted the operation, was not enrolled in the State Register as on the date when the operation was conducted,” read the observations by the Division Bench of Justice M. S. Karnik and Justice Nivedita Mehta.
The case concerns a laparoscopic appendectomy that Dr Teja performed on Pinto at Victor Hospital, Margao, in August 2023, which allegedly led to post-operative complications.
Pinto claimed that due to medical negligence, he was forced to undergo a second surgery at a hospital in
Delhi.
The ethics and disciplinary committee of the Goa Medical Council dismissed his case of medical negligence, prompting Pinto to challenge the decision in the High Court.
He argued that the committee conducted and concluded the inquiry despite Dr Teja not holding valid registration with the Goa Medical Council when the complaint was filed.
In March 2024, the council issued a notice to Dr Teja for practising without proper registration.
Dr Teja responded, explaining that the delay in obtaining his registration was due to a strike by the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council, which prevented the timely issuance of a No Objection Certificate (NOC).
He assured the council that the NOC would be submitted within 15 days, but when he failed to do so, he was advised to halt his practice in Goa.
The petition states that it was only after submitting the required NOC that Dr Teja received registration and was permitted to resume practice from 21 May 2024.
Dr Teja admitted to practising without registration for over ten months, for which the committee imposed a fine of Rs 10,000.
Despite admitting that Pinto had experienced significant complications following the appendectomy, the committee absolved Dr Teja and the others involved of medical negligence.
