THE KARNATAKA MEDICAL REGISTRATION AND CERTAIN OTHER LAW (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2024
Karnataka Act No. 41 Of 2024
Arrangement of Sections
Sections:
1. Short title and commencement
2. Amendment of the Karnataka Act 34 of 1961
3. Amendment of the Karnataka Act 01 of 2009
4. Power to remove difficulties
STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS
Amendment Act 41 of 2024:- It is considered necessary further to amend the Karnataka Medical Registration Act, 1961 (Karnataka Act 34 of 1961) and the Karnataka Prohibition of Violence Against Medicare Service Personnel and Damage to Property in Medicare Service Institutions Act, 2009 (Karnataka Act 01 of 2009) to provide for,-
(i) the process of election of new members to the council;
(ii) the fixation of time limit for the term of office of the President or the Vice- President of the council;
(iii) the time, place and procedure of meeting of the council;
(iv) the appointment of the Deputy registrar to the Council;
(v) the mandatory Registration of medical practitioner to the council
(vi) the procedure for conducting inquiries;
(vii) prohibition of intentional insult of medicare service personnel in a medicare service institution;
(viii) fixing the limit for penalty amount and extending the duration of imprisonment;
(ix) the investigation and trail of cases;
(x) the power to make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act; and
(xi) certain other consequential amendments are also made.
Hence, the Bill.
[L.A. Bill No.37 of 2024, File No. SAMVYASHAE 34 SHASANA 2024]
[Entry 1 and 6 of List II and 26 of List III of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.]
[Published in Karnataka Gazette Extra-ordinary No. 396 in part-IVA dated:16.08.2024]
KARNATAKA ACT NO. 41 OF 2024
(First published in the Karnataka Gazette Extra-ordinary on the 16th day of August, 2024)
THE KARNATAKA MEDICAL REGISTRATION AND CERTAIN OTHER LAW (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2024
(Received the assent of the Governor on the 15th day of August, 2024)
An Act further to amend the Karnataka Medical Registration Act, 1961 and the Karnataka Prohibition of Violence Against Medicare Service Personnel and Damage to Property in Medicare Service Institutions Act, 2009.
Whereas, it is expedient further to amend the Karnataka Medical Registration Act, 1961 (Karnataka Act 34 of 1961) and the Karnataka Prohibition of Violence Against Medicare Service Personnel and Damage to Property in Medicare Service Institutions Act, 2009 (Karnataka Act 01 of 2009) for the purposes hereinafter appearing;
Be it enacted by the Karnataka State Legislature in the Seventy fifth year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Karnataka Medical Registration and certain other law (Amendment) Act, 2024.
(2) It shall come into force at once.
2. Amendment of the Karnataka Act 34 of 1961.- In the Karnataka Medical Registration Act, 1961 (Karnataka Act 34 of 1961),-
(i) in section 3, for sub section (3), the following shall be substituted, namely:-
"(3) In making nomination under clause (d) of sub-section (2), the State Government shall have due regard to the claims of women and of other social groups of practitioners, representatives of whom have not been elected under clauses (a), (b) and (c). The process of nomination shall be completed within fifteen days of completion of elections."
(ii) after section 3, the following new section shall be inserted, namely:-
“3A.- Process of election.- The process of election of new members to the Council from the respective categories under clause (a), (b) and (c) of sub- section (2) of section 3 shall be completed three months before the completion of the term of the existing members."
(iii) for section 5, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“5. Term of office.- (1) The President, Vice-President and other members of the Medical Council other than a member referred to in clause
(d) of sub-section (2) of section 3 shall, subject to the provision of this Act, hold office for a term of five years from the date of their nomination or election.
(2) A person who has held the office of the President or the Vice President for two terms shall not be eligible to be elected to the same office.”
(iv) for section 9, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“9. Time and Place of meeting and procedure at meeting of Council.- (1) The Medical Council shall make such regulations as may be necessary with respect to the time and place of the meeting of the Medical Council and the mode of summoning the same. In the absence of any regulation as to the summoning of a meeting of the Medical Council, it shall be lawful for the President to summon a meeting at such time and place as to him shall seem expedient by letter addressed to each member; and at every meeting, in the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall act as President; in the absence of both president and vice-president, any other member chosen among other members shall act as the president and all acts of the Medical Council shall be decided by the votes of the majority of the members present; and at any meeting the total number present being not less than eight, and at all such meetings the President for the time being shall, in addition to his vote as a member of the Medical Council, have a casting vote in case of any equality of votes:
Provided that the member nominated under clause (d) of sub-section
(2) of section 3 shall participate in meeting of the Medical Council but shall not have a right to vote in such meeting.
(2) In case there is no quorum, the meeting shall be adjourned and for the adjourned meeting the quorum shall be of four members”.
(v) for section 11, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“11. Registrar and Officers.- (1) The Medical Council shall appoint a Registrar and Deputy Registrar for a term of three years. In the absence of the Registrar, the Deputy Registrar shall act in his place.
(2) Any order of the Medical Council appointing or dismissing a Registrar or Deputy Registrar or appointing to act as registrar or Deputy Registrar shall be subject to the previous approval of the State Government.
(3) The Registrar and Deputy Registrar shall be paid by the Medical Council such salary and allowances as it may from time to time determine.
(4) The Medical Council may also appoint such other officers and servants as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.
(5) The Registar or any other officer or servant appointed under this section shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 2(28) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023”.
(vi) after section 13, the following shall be inserted, namely:-
“13A. Prohibition to practice.- (1) No person shall practice/represent himself as a medical practitioner unless he has registered with the Council as per section 13.
(2) The Council may either suo-moto or on a complaint by any person, take cognizance of the presence of a quack within the State and lodge complaint through Registrar with the Jurisdictional Police.”
(vii) after section 16, the following new section shall be inserted, namely:-
"16-A Procedure for conducting Inquiries.- The procedure for conducting inquiries shall be as prescribed by rules.”
(viii) in section 19,-
(a) for sub-section (1), the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(1) All the existing medical practitioner enrolled in the State Medical
Register, not having the registration number as prescribed by National
Medical Commission shall submit an application to National Medical Commission within a period prescribed by notification by National Medical Council and obtain the new Registration Number as a onetime measure and the licence so obtained shall be valid for period of five years from the date of issuance. For the purpose of updating of licence of such medical practitioner, no fee shall be charged by the Commission. Further renewal of registration shall be as per rules and guidelines prescribed by National Medical Commission.”; and
(b) in sub-section (2) the first proviso and the explanation shall be omitted.
(ix) in section 21, after the words "where the modern scientific system of medicine is practised" the words "or regulated" shall be inserted.
(x) section 22 shall be omitted.
(xi) for section 26, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“26. Publication of list of practitioners.- (1) The Registrar shall maintain a dynamic online as well as physical list of the medical practitioners updated on daily basis on the official website and inform the National Medical Commission. The same shall be electoral list for all elections as may be prescribed.
(2) A certified copy of the list published under sub-section (1) shall be evidence in all Courts and in judicial or quail-judicial proceedings that the persons therein specified are registered according to the provisions of this Act.”
(xii) for section 28, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
"28. Penalties for quackery.- Whoever falsely pretends to be registered under this Act or not being registered under this Act uses in connection with his name or title any words or letters representing that he is so registered shall, whether any person is actually deceived by such pretence or representation or not, be punished in the case of a first conviction with fine which extend ten thousand rupees and in the case of subsequent conviction with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.”
3. Amendment of the Karnataka Act 01 of 2009.- In the Karnataka Prohibition of Violence Against Medicare Service Personnel and Damage to Property in Medicare Service Institutions Act, 2009 (Karnataka Act 01 of 2009),-
(i) in section 2,-
(A) for clause (a) the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“(a) "Intentional Insult" means, use of words, figures or gestures with an intention to insult, humiliate, disgrace, annoy or abuse a medicare service personnel either directly addressed to him or through social media or through unauthorised audio and video recording and photographing in connection with his professional duty.
(a1)“Medicare service institutions” means all institutions providing medicare service to people having facilities for treatment to the persons suffering from sickness, injury or infirmity whether of body or mind including institutions under the control of Central or State Government or local bodies, all private hospitals /maternity homes/private nursing homes / convalescent homes etc”.
(B) in clause (b) in item (v) the words “employed and working in medicare service institutions” shall be omitted
(C) after item (v) the following shall be inserted, namely:-
“(vi) The employees working in the medicare service institutions including security guards, managerial staff, ambulance drivers and helpers”.
(ii) after section 3, the following shall be inserted, namely:-
“3A. Prohibition of Intentional insult.- Any intentional insult of medicare service personnel in a medicare service institution is prohibited.”
(iii) for section 4, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“4. Penalty.- (1) Any person who commits any act in contravention of section 3, shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of not less than three years which may extend upto seven years and also with fine which shall not be less than rupees twenty five thousand and not more than rupees two lakhs.
(2) Any person who commits any act in contravention of section 3A, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to rupees ten thousand.”
(iv) after section 4 so substituted, the following shall be inserted, namely:-
“4A. Abetment of offences.- whoever abets the offences under sections 3 and 3A shall be punished with the same punishment provided for the offence.
(v) for section 5 the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“5. Cognisance of offence.- Any offence committed under sections 3, 3A and 4A shall be cognizable and non-bailable.
5A. Investigation, trial, etc.- Without prejudice to the provisions contained in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Central Act 46 of 2023),-
(1) Any case registered under this Act shall be investigated by a police officer not below the rank of an Inspector and the investigation of such cases shall be completed within a period of sixty days from the date of registration of First Information Report;
(2) In every inquiry or trial of a case under this Act, the proceedings shall be held as expeditiously as possible, and in particular, when the examination of witnesses has once begun, the same shall be continued from day to day until all the witnesses in attendance have been examined, unless the court finds the adjournment of the same beyond the following days to be necessary for reasons to be recorded, and an endeavour shall be made to ensure that the inquiry or trial is concluded within a period of one year:
Provided that where the trial in not concluded within the said period, the court shall record the reasons for not having done so.
Provided further that the said period may be extended by such a further period, for reasons to be recorded, but not exceeding six months at a time.
(3) For the purpose of providing speedy trial, the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate of every Districts and Chief metropolitan Magistrate of Bengaluru urban district is the competent court to try the offences under this Act.
(4) The court shall, while trying the offender under this Act, not insist for corroboration of the evidence of victim or manager or owner of the Medicare service institutions as the case may be while holding the accused guilty of the offence unless it sees valid reasons to be recorded in writing for corroboration.”
(vi) after section 7, the following shall be inserted, namely:-
“8. Power to make rules.- (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette make rules to carryout the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing powers, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely-
(a) deployment of adequate security personnel;
(b) Installation of CCTV cameras and other safety and security devises/ equipments;
(c) arrangement of control rooms and alarm system;
(d) display of important informations addressing stakeholders;
(e) evolving protocols as to the manner in which doctors, healthcare professionals, medical students, police etc. are to be protected; and
(f) any other matter which is required to be or may be prescribed under this Act.
(3) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of the State Legislature while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions and if before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall, from the date on which the modification or annulment is notified have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect as the case may be; so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without, prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.”
4. Power to remove difficulties.-(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the State Government may, by order, published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as may be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty:
Provided that, no order under this section shall be made after expiry of two years from the date of commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is so made, be laid before the House of State Legislature.
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