Premium

Stand up Comedy row: KEM’s former dean denies claims of leniency to Sejal Pawar

Dr Rawat's clarification comes after Shiv Sena leader Sachin Padwal alleged that Pawar had made remarks about KEM Hospital and its faculty around two years ago, describing them as "toxic".

Padwal claimed that doctors at KEM had objected to the student's social media content. (Screengrab from Instagram/@dr_sejal_pawar)

Written by: Purnima Sah

4 min readMumbaiJun 17, 2026 02:27 PM IST First published on: Jun 17, 2026 at 02:27 PM IST

Amid the controversy surrounding medical student and social media influencer Sejal Pawar’s Instagram videos linked to Mumbai’s KEM Hospital, the institution’s former dean, Dr Sangita Rawat, has denied allegations that Pawar was previously summoned or let off lightly by the administration over her social media posts.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Dr Rawat said she had submitted a written clarification to Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Public Health) Sharad Ughade on Tuesday evening, stating that no complaints regarding Pawar’s videos were received during her tenure and that she was unaware of their existence until they recently surfaced on social media.

“I wish to categorically clarify that during my tenure, I did not receive any complaints regarding the Instagram videos of Ms. Sejal Pawar, nor was I aware of their existence. Consequently, any claims suggesting that she was summoned, asked for an explanation, or granted leniency by me are entirely baseless and factually incorrect. No such incident occurred. I spoke to the DMC and he asked me to issue a written letter so I have submitted that on Tuesday late evening,” Dr Rawat said.

Also Read | Pranit More biryani row: KEM probe finds MBBS student’s remarks ‘insensitive’

She added that she first came across the videos only after they went viral.

“I first became aware of the video concerning KEM Hospital on June 15, after it went viral on social media. Had any formal complaint or inappropriate content been brought to my attention during my tenure, it would have been dealt with strictly in accordance with institutional protocol.”

Dr Rawat’s clarification comes after Shiv Sena leader Sachin Padwal alleged that Pawar had made remarks about KEM Hospital and its faculty around two years ago, describing them as “toxic”. According to Padwal, the then dean had called the student, counselled her and obtained an apology from her.

Padwal claimed that doctors at KEM had objected to the student’s social media content.

Must Read | A doctor writes on Sejal Pawar row: Where is the empathy in medical training?

“KEM doctors had complained that the student was tarnishing the institution’s reputation,” he said.

Referring to Pawar’s social media presence, Padwal added, “As a social media influencer, she may have believed that making such comments would increase her Instagram followers list, but it was inappropriate and unbecoming of an MBBS student who would eventually become a doctor. If the student genuinely feels that studying at KEM Hospital damages her reputation or that the institution was not worthy of respect, then such students should be transferred elsewhere.”

Questioning the conduct expected of medical students, Padwal said every student is taught from the beginning of medical education to respect the human body and wondered how a student who had taken such an oath could make remarks that he considered disrespectful.

He also raised questions over the hospital administration’s decision to invite comedian Pranit More to the campus in the past.

“I am questioning the administration and the then dean for inviting the same comedian Pranit More to the campus around one-and-a-half to two years ago. The dean and hospital administration should have exercised greater caution while extending invitations to such individuals who do not know how to speak,” he said.