The clock is ticking for medical regulators.
Setting a firm two-week deadline, the Delhi High Court directed the National Medical Commission and the Delhi government’s Directorate General of Health Services on October 30 to produce a joint inquiry report examining the qualifications of two doctors accused of mishandling an infant during treatment. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued the order during proceedings on a contempt petition brought by Sapna Jain on behalf of her minor son, Devarsh Jain. The court made one thing clear: institutional delay in evaluating clinical credentials will not stand.
According to the petition, Devarsh suffered catastrophic brain damage after two medical practitioners—allegedly masquerading as super-specialists—treated him in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Fortis Hospital in Shalimar Bagh. The child now lives in a permanent vegetative state. He battles West Syndrome, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy, enduring continuous physical pain and suffering.
The regulatory inquiry has dragged on for months despite earlier court interventions. In March 2025, the High Court directed statutory bodies to file affidavits clarifying whether the qualifications claimed by the two practitioners entitled them to practice as specialists in India. Two months later, in May 2026, the court instructed the NMC Secretary and the DGHS to run a joint inquiry into the credentials and submit a formal report within eight weeks.
Yet the July 24, 2026 deadline passed quietly. Regulators filed no report. Nor did they ask the court for an extension.
That silence prompted the contempt petition. The plea emphasized that the matter involves the basic safety of critically ill newborns and demands immediate institutional accountability. As statutory custodian of medical standards, the NMC remains obligated to safeguard clinical integrity, the petition argued, noting that the persistent refusal of both agencies to submit conclusive findings erodes public trust.
The bench posted the matter for its next hearing on December 16, when both the NMC and the DGHS must deliver their joint findings or answer for the delay.