The National Medical Commission (NMC) has argued before the Delhi High Court that one of the two doctors accused of committing medical malpractice that resulted in a newborn going into a vegetative state lacks the credentials to use the title "child specialist."

The NMC, which oversees medical education and practise in India, also acknowledged that it does not even have another doctor′s additional certification making him a neonatologist on file, and it asked the court to obtain it from the Delhi Medical Council (DMC). She claimed that the DMC website contains information about Dr. Vivek Jain and Dr. Akhilesh Singh of the Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, including their registration status and educational backgrounds.

As per the website, Dr. Vivek Jain, who serves as the hospital′s director and head of the neonatology department, earned his MBBS from Kasturba Medical College in 2004 and his Membership in the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health (MRCPCH) in the United Kingdom in 2007. Another physician, Dr. Singh, earned his MBBS from Motilal Nehru Medical College in Allahabad in 1994 and his Diploma of Child Health (DCH) from the Indian College of Maternal and Child Health (ICMCH), which is a member of the International Association for Maternal and Neonatal Health in Geneva.

The NMC acknowledged that Dr. Singh was only registered by the DMC based on his MBBS degree when it presented its position before the court in an affidavit on Tuesday. The NMC stated: "It is pertinent to state that the registration granted by the Delhi Medical Council is only based on the aforementioned MBBS qualification and that there has been no Additional Qualification Registration granted to Dr. Akhilesh Singh based on which he could be considered a specialist.

Regarding Dr. Vivek Jain, the NMC argued that while the Commission is only aware of his MBBS degree, the DMC approved registration for both his MBBS degree and supplementary registration for his membership in the MRCPCH. As a result, the NMC has requested that the court examine the DMC`s affidavit to find out if additional registration norms have been complied with.

(Source: https://theprint.in/india/nmc-finds-anomalies-in-qualification-of-delhi-doctor-accused-of-negligence/1517738/ )