1. The Medical Council of India (MCI) is an Appellate body and is not supposed to handle cases of professional misconduct or medical negligence directly unless they receive a complaint from a State where the State Medical Council is absent, defunct or non-functional.
2. The MCI can also handle cases directly if the State Medical Council has not decided a case in six months.
3. MCI can act su moto.
4. MCI can conduct a primary enquiry if the case is of fraud in medical college inspections
5. MCI can proceed with enquiry if multiple councils are involved or if the subject is of national significance.

If the MCI has given a decision, the state medical council, in absence of any stay by the higher courts, has to act on it.

In a Delhi Medical Council order DMC/DC/F14/652/2010, the State Medical Council also implemented the temporary removal of the name of a doctor from the State Medical Register as decided by the MCI. “…the Delhi Medical Council directs that in terms of MCI letter No. MCI-211(2)/2009-Ethics/63538-64207 dated 8.1.2010 as per which the Medical Council of India has ordered removal of name of Dr X temporarily … from the Indian Medical Register for a period of six months …, the Delhi Medical Council also remove the name of Dr X… for a period of six months…( DMC/DC/F14/652/2010).”