Only one FIR against quacks in 2025, none last year, reveals RTI

Only a single First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against quackery in Delhi this year, while none were registered last year, an RTI accessed by The Tribune revealed.

According to the RTI reply, so far this year, 22 survey and inspection reports were received by the Delhi Medical Council from the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) and only one was forwarded to the Delhi Police for FIR registration, which was registered.

In 2024, only nine reports were received by the DMC, out of which none were sent to the police for FIR registration, the RTI revealed.

In the absence of a functioning DMC for almost three months, the data raises concerns over the number of quacks operating in the city.

This issue was also highlighted in a CAG report, which mentioned that 56,742 out of a total of 1,34,958 registered medical practitioners (RMPs), constituting 42 per cent, had not renewed their registrations as of May 2022, raising alarms about the number of quacks practising in the national capital.

The Delhi Medical Council (DMC) is a statutory body that was constituted in September 1998 through the Delhi Medical Council Act, 1997, by the Government of NCT of Delhi, vested with powers, duties and functions to regulate the practice of the modern scientific system of medicine in the NCT of Delhi. All medical practitioners are required to renew their registration every five years.

However, nearly four months after the Delhi Government dissolved the Delhi Medical Council (DMC), the inquiry committee set up to investigate the alleged irregularities in its functioning is “yet to be accepted,” another RTI response accessed by The Tribune revealed.

The government dissolved the medical council on June 17 this year, following an order issued by Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.

The move came after the Health Department flagged a series of administrative and procedural lapses within the council, including unauthorised extensions of tenure and financial irregularities. Since its dissolution, these statutory functions have been stalled.

The Director General of Health Services, Dr Vatsala Aggarwal, was temporarily tasked with overseeing the registrar’s responsibilities until the new council was formed.

Despite the L-G’s directions to complete the reconstitution process within two months, no new council was announced until November 5.