Radiologist’s licence suspended for ‘forging’ patient’s signature

The state medical council on Friday suspended a city doctor’s license to practice for a year after he was found guilty of forging the signature of a patient (his daughter-inlaw) on form F – mandatory for getting an ultrasound test conducted on a pregnant woman.

A complaint was filed against Dr SV Ojha (radiologist) by his daughter-in-law Dr Prakriti Shukla (pathologist) on June 9. Dr Shukla said that her ultrasound was conducted without her consent. She also alleged that the behaviour of her inlaws changed after the test as they came to know the sex of the unborn child.

Her complaint was examined by the UP Medical Council’s governing body (ethical committee) that heard both the complainant and the respondent.

On July 4, Dr Shukla had requested that her signature on form F be verified. She claimed that she had never signed that particular form.

Responding to her request, her signature was examined by SP Gupta, a hand writing expert, who confirmed that the signature was not made by Dr Shukla. “Based on the evidence and the failure of Dr Ojha to justify his action, the governing council has decided to suspend his registration for a period of one year,” said Rajesh Jain, registrar, UP medical council.

Several attempts made to contact Dr Ojha proved futile.

A similar penalty was imposed on Dr Shalini, who was found to have written two prescriptions for Dr Shukla, one after the ultrasound. Her license was suspended for six months.

Dr Shukla’s father Anoop Shukla said that he welcomed the decision of the medical council. He added that if the decision was challenged, he would pursue the matter further.

The decision of the medical council’s governing body can be challenged in a court of law.