Med reg. suspension: Santanu Sen moves HC

Kolkata: Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP and medical practitioner Santanu Sen on Friday approached the Calcutta High Court challenging the West Bengal Medical Council’s (WBMC) decision to suspend his medical registration for two years.

The bench of Justice Amrita Sinha is learnt to have admitted Sen’s petition, in which he alleged that the suspension was arbitrary and driven by vendetta from certain quarters within the council. The WBMC had suspended Sen’s registration for allegedly using the postgraduate qualification “Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Glasgow)” on his letterhead without registering the degree with the council.

As per the order, Sen cannot use the prefix “Dr” or issue prescriptions during the suspension period. Sen, however, denied any wrongdoing and claimed he had submitted all relevant documents for the registration of the foreign qualification and paid the required fee. “I made repeated attempts to follow up, including sending letters, e-mails, and even filing an RTI application but got no response,” he told the media after filing the petition. Sen, an alumnus of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, had earlier served as a state government representative in the medical council.

The case is expected to be heard further in due course.