The National Medical Commission (NMC) has vacated the stay it directed on the Gujarat Medical Council’s (GMC) order suspending the medical registration of Dr Prashant Vazirani, the visiting cardiologist at Khyati Multispeciality Hospital in Ahmedabad, which is at the centre of the alleged PMJAY racket, for three years.
The NMC’s move came after the state council wrote a scathing letter to the national regular asking it to vacate the stay order it had granted on April 10.
In an order received by the GMC on Monday, the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the NMC vacated its own stay on the GMC’s order dated November 28, 2024, which imposed a 3-year suspension of medical registration on Dr Vazirani, who is accused in three separate FIRs for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, filed on November 13, 2024. The FIRs were filed against Dr Vazirani for conducting allegedly “completely unnecessary” angioplasty surgeries on seven PMJAY beneficiaries from Mehsana resulting in the death of two of them on November 11.
The new NMC order, dated April 25, stated that the GMC had, in its letter dated April 23, brought forth certain new facts to the notice of EMRB that inter alia included Dr Vazirani “being arrested and not being granted bail, conducting angioplasties and angiographies while not being empanelled under the PMJAY scheme and the surgeries being conducted without informed consent of patients, and other instances of unethical conduct on part of the doctor”.
This order, signed by NMC Secretary Dr Raghav Langer, further directed all parties to submit the relevant case-related documents, investigation report, chargesheet filed in the matter, etc, to the EMRB within 10 days from the receipt of the order, so that the appeal made by Dr Vazirani can be heard and decided on its merits.
The earlier April 10 NMC order, granting ex-parte stay on Dr Vazirani’s suspension, had said, “The Authority considered his (Dr Vazirani’s) appeal and is of the opinion that irreparable harm or prejudice will be caused to the appellant if the said order is allowed to be implemented pending hearing of the Appeal… Accordingly, after due deliberations, it has been decided to stay the operation of the (GMC) order till the matter is heard and decided by the Ethical and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) and an order passed thereon.”
In reply to this, the GMC had said it had found it shocking that the NMC had decided to grant a stay on their order without hearing the Gujarat government through its respective department as well as without calling for case-related documents from the state council.
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The latest NMC order, vacating its stay on April 25, stated, “…after going through the contents of the communication dated April 23, 2025, of GMC, and material facts provided therein, EMRB, after careful consideration, hereby vacates the ex-parte stay order dated April 10, 2025.”