The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) is set to take action against Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital in Pune after a doctor of the hospital was found luring other staffers to get post-graduate degrees from a foreign university, which is unrecognised in India.

Dr Sangram Jadhav, a doctor at Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital, has been accused of coordinating the fake degree process with University of Seychelles, DNA reported.

An MMC member said the doctors were found displaying fake degrees provided by University of Seychelles. "The website of University of Seychelles, which provides these degrees, had details about Dr Jadhav being their coordinator. It also had mention of Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital, where he worked," the member added.

Furthermore, MMC president Dr Kishor Taori said they are preparing to send notice to the hospital, seeking an answer for its role in this process.

Taori revealed that in the notice, MMC will demand an explanation on how the hospital has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with University of Seychelles without taking permission from the government.

Until now, 30 doctors from Maharashtra have been found displaying foreign degrees at the hospital or their clinics, which are unrecognised by Medical Council of India (MCI) and MMC.

Taori further said that nearly all the doctors accused Aditya Birla Hospital of "luring" them to pursue the course with University of Seychelles, for which each doctor paid a "hefty fee" of $6,000 or more.

He added that the notice will be sent to the hospital within a week.

Taori said that MMC has decided to not take any action against the 30 doctors because "they have apologised and pulled down the degrees." He informed that they are "writing to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) against the Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital for violating ethics" because PMC is "authorised for giving regist2ration to the hospital, it will be their prerogative to take action."

"The fake degree racket should stop. Doctors are falling prey to the gimmicks by such universities. Even patients are confused with these fake degrees," Taori added.

MMC is also sending a report to the state government.

However, Dr Jadhav refused to take the claim, saying that he has "no role to play other than being an exam coordinator," which he does "as per the hospital's direction."

Rekha Dubey, who is the CEO of Aditya Birla Hospital, said they have already sent the "statement and agreement copy" they had with University of Seychelles to MMC.

She further said that the hospital's "mandate is to only conduct exams" because they're not offering the degree. "It is for the doctors appearing for the exam who have to decide if the degree is recognised by the MCI or MMC or not," Dubey added.

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