The Delhi Medical Council (DMC) has ordered that two doctors associated with Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, to refrain from claiming specialist credentials or practicing as super-specialists in neonatology, pending an inquiry into their qualifications.

This action comes in the wake of a long-standing legal battle over the alleged medical negligence that left a child in a permanent vegetative state.

In the May 21 order addressed to Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, the DMC said: “Considering the material on record and information received from the UK General Medical Council regarding Dr. Vivek Jain, the Executive Committee of the Delhi Medical Council, in the public interest, takes the prima facie view that, pending further inquiry, both Dr. Akhilesh Singh and Dr. Vivek Jain should refrain from claiming neonatologist status and practicing as super-specialists”.

“Their credentials as qualified pediatricians are also pending inquiry,” the DMC said.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the DMC’s Executive Committee held on May 19, 2025, following a complaint by Mr Sachin Jain — father of five-year-old Devarsh Jain — who has accused the two doctors of endangering public health by practicing as specialist without qualifications.

Also read: Five-year-old in vegetative state, parents move court

Based on available records, the council found that Dr. Akhilesh Singh is registered only with an MBBS qualification. “He thus cannot claim himself to be a specialist,” the DMC said.

The controversy traces back to 2017 when Devarsh Jain was born at Fortis Hospital and allegedly suffered a hypoxic brain injury during his neonatal care.

According to the petition filed before the Delhi High Court, the parents claimed that Dr. Jain and Dr. Singh were allowed to function as neonatologists without the requisite qualifications, contributing to the child’s severe and irreversible condition.

The child’s father alleged that after the injury was inflicted, the hospital concealed the true extent of the damage, discharged the baby with a “healthy” status, and later misled the parents during follow-up consultations.

The child was eventually diagnosed with West Syndrome, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy after months of untreated seizures and spasms. The petition claims that timely medical intervention could have significantly mitigated his suffering.

A 2019 DMC order had earlier exonerated the doctors, stating that standard medical protocols were followed. However, the High Court stayed that order in 2020, and the matter has remained under judicial scrutiny since.

On March 12 this year, the Delhi High Court directed the DMC to file affidavits clarifying whether the doctors’ qualifications entitled them to practice as specialists in India. On May 5, the DMC informed the court that an inquiry had been initiated into their credentials.