The Union Cabinet was understood to have decided in principle to dissolve the Medical Council of India whose chief Ketan Desai has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on graft charges. The cabinet at its meeting also decided to replace the MCI by a seven-member body of eminent doctors which will look after the functions of the MCI, sources said.
Desai, who was arrested on April 22 by CBI for allegedly accepting bribe to give permission to a Punjab medical college to recruit a fresh batch of students without having requisite infrastructure, has already submitted his resignation to MCI vice-president P C Kesavankutty Nair. The MCI vice-president has forwarded the resignation letter to the Health Ministry. The main functions of the MCI, set up under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1933, are to ensure uniform standards in medical education and grant of recognition to medical degrees awarded in India and abroad. Medical colleges across the country require MCI's permission to increase the number of seats, to set up new medical college, to add new courses and also to increase student intake.