For the first time ever, five quacks who were running private clinics in Sangam Vihar in south Delhi were convicted  by a district court on Monday.

The quacks - Raja Ram, Raj Bala (female), G. Roy, S.K. Biswas and B.P. Verma – were booked under Section 27 of the Delhi Medical Act. They had to pay a fine of Rs.3,000 each apart from serving one day’s sentence.

Delhi Medical Council registrar Dr. Girish Tyagi said, “Though the sentence is just for a day, this is the first time any quack has been convicted.”

The complaints against these fake doctors were filed in 2006 with the DMC. The DMC then assigned the district medical officer to investigate the cases. The results showed that the doctors had no qualifications and were running the clinics illegally.

“We called those five individuals claiming to be doctors to our office and ordered closure on November 5, 2007,” said Dr. Tyagi.

The authorities later found out that the clinics are still being run by the quacks. The DMC then filed cases against these five individuals in the district court.  The court’s judgment came two-and-a-half years later.

“Cases as old as eight to nine years are pending against quacks in various courts. We need fast track courts and stricter punishment for quacks but the judgment in these five cases is definitely a step forward,” added Dr. Tyagi.