HC seeks response in PIL against doctor’s appointment on national surrogacy board

The petitioner, Dr. Aniruddha Narayan Malpani, in the plea has sought that a writ of ‘quo warranto’ (by what warrant or authority) be issued against Murdia’s appointment as expert member of the panel. The plea further seeks a direction for providing copies of Murdia’s embryology degree and appointment letter.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that there is no evidence of the doctor possessing a degree in embryology from a recognised university.

The plea submits that Murdia does not possess “any valid post-graduate or doctoral degree” from a recognised university or 15 years experience as an embryologist, which are mandatory requirements for being an expert panel member of the Board under the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board (Appointment of Expert Members by Nominating) Rules.

According to the plea, when the petitioner filed an RTI seeking information regarding Murdia’s appointment from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, he was informed that Murdia holds a PhD from California Public University in ‘Embryology, IVF Health and Business’ and possesses 17 years of experience as chief embryologist.

“Subsequent investigations by the petitioner revealed that California Public University does not offer any academic credits to its students and mostly has diploma courses…Moreover, it is evident from the university’s website that it does not confer degrees in embryology or clinical embryology,” the plea states.