Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Dr. Ruhul Haq, who recently sparked controversy for having continued to hold office despite a suspension imposed by the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), has requested the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to intervene to prevent what he claimed was a violation of his seniority and merit order in appointing the Colombo Chief JMO.
In a letter addressed to the HRCSL early this month, Dr. Haq said that he had applied for the post of Chief JMO this year. “The senior-most person, Dr. P.R. Ruwanpura has withdrawn his application. So, I am eligible for the Chief JMO position based on the merit order. It is the ‘one and only’ chance in life. If a junior person gets the position, it would affect my retirement. In the list of candidates, I am at the top with 83.18 marks and the applicant below me has 71.21 marks.”
He also claimed in the letter that there was no official document to indicate his suspension by the SLMC after the initial suspension ended on 20 August 2023. “I should be reinstated or the suspension should be extended as per the legal authority vested in the SLMC. I have written to the SLMC to reinstate my registration. Very unfortunately, the SLMC has failed to respond to my letter. I am very disappointed to hear through the SLMC’s Registrar (Dr. Hemantha Herath) that after my formal request for reinstatement, they have brought a rule of 'no automatic reinstatement’."
Dr. Haq further said that he had a great doubt as to whether the incidents surrounding him (the SLMC’s suspension and media reports regarding the same) were part of a programme to prevent him from being appointed as the Chief JMO. “Due to this situation, my human rights have been violated. I hope that the HRCSL will take necessary steps to prevent the violation of the merit order on specialist transfers and safeguard my human rights,” the letter further read.
When contacted by The Daily Morning, an official of the HRCSL stated that it had written to SLMC President Prof. Vajira H.W. Dissanayake and the Health Ministry’s Secretary (the incumbent Secretary being Dr. Palitha Mahipala), calling for a report regarding the matter.
Dr. Haq sparked controversy over the past few months as it was revealed that he had continued to function as a JMO and conduct postmortem examinations despite his having been suspended from exercising rights, privileges, and immunities conferred upon him by registration as a medical practitioner, for eight months starting from 20 December 2022 by the Professional Conduct Committee of the SLMC.
The relevant suspension was later extended indefinitely. Allegations of preparing postmortem reports with contradictory findings with regard to the deaths of late businessman Dinesh Schaffter and the child named Hamdi Faslin who died on 28 July 2023 at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, due to an infection following kidney surgery, have been levelled against Dr. Haq.