West Bengal Tightens Checks to Curb Fake Doctors, Issues Four-Point Directive

Kolkata: The West Bengal government has stepped up its efforts to identify and prevent the practice of medicine by people with allegedly fraudulent or invalid medical credentials. The Health Department has issued a four-point directive to private hospitals, nursing homes and licensing authorities, making verification of doctors’ registration and qualifications mandatory before appointments.

The move comes amid an ongoing investigation into alleged fake medical registrations in the state and follows directions from the Calcutta High Court seeking details of the steps being taken by the government to identify and prevent fake doctors.

According to the new directive issued by the Health Department, private hospitals and nursing homes must verify a doctor’s registration with the West Bengal Medical Council before making a fresh appointment. The institutions have also been instructed to verify the relevant documents in accordance with Rule 7(4) of the West Bengal Clinical Establishments (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Rules, 2017.

The second part of the directive concerns people who allegedly practise medicine or describe themselves as doctors without possessing valid registration or authorisation. Licensing authorities have been asked to remain vigilant and take appropriate action whenever such cases come to light.

The government has further directed authorities to immediately verify the credentials of any person whose identity, educational qualifications, medical registration or legal authority to provide medical services is in doubt. In such cases, the concerned authorities have been asked to contact the West Bengal Medical Council and verify the person’s credentials.

The fourth instruction states that appropriate legal action should be taken against anyone found practising medicine under a false identity or without the necessary authorisation. The Health Department has described the matter as one of urgent public importance.

The directive has been issued amid a wider investigation into several doctors whose credentials have come under scrutiny. The West Bengal Medical Council recently cancelled the registrations of five doctors accused of using allegedly fraudulent documents from Bihar to obtain registration in West Bengal. The verification process reportedly found that the certificates attributed to the Bihar medical authorities were not valid.

Two of the five doctors were working as contractual doctors under the National Health Mission at a municipal health centre in the South 24 Parganas district. The state government has since issued termination notices to them after they failed to provide a response to notices seeking an explanation.

The investigation has also widened beyond the five doctors whose registrations were cancelled. According to reports, the Health Department has received information regarding around 15 suspected fake doctors. Some of those individuals are reportedly difficult to trace following the emergence of the allegations.

Separately, the West Bengal Medical Council has begun steps to re-examine the credentials of doctors who obtained registration in the state using educational documents from other states. The Council is reportedly collecting records covering the period from 2009 to 2026, including doctors’ names, primary medical qualifications, universities that awarded their MBBS degrees, registration numbers and details of additional qualifications.

The proposed audit is intended to identify discrepancies in documents submitted for registration. If fraudulent credentials are detected, the Council may cancel the registration and initiate legal action, according to reports.

The issue has also triggered questions about the functioning of the West Bengal Medical Council. The Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes has raised allegations concerning the alleged registration of doctors using fraudulent documents and has called for accountability. The allegations against Council officials are disputed, and some of those named have denied wrongdoing.

West Bengal Medical Council president Sudipta Roy has said that the Council will re-verify documents of doctors who graduated from medical colleges outside West Bengal and have been practising in the state over the past decade.

The latest Health Department directive places particular responsibility on private healthcare institutions, requiring them to conduct due diligence before employing doctors. The objective is to prevent individuals with invalid qualifications or registrations from entering the healthcare system and treating patients.

The government has asked the concerned hospitals and authorities to submit reports on the measures taken by October 2, treating the exercise as an urgent matter.

The investigation and verification process are still underway. While several registrations have already been cancelled and action has been initiated against some individuals, allegations concerning other suspected doctors and Medical Council officials remain subject to investigation and, where applicable, judicial proceedings.

The new four-point framework is therefore intended to strengthen verification at the point of recruitment while the broader audit examines whether fraudulent credentials may have entered the state’s medical-registration system in earlier years.