Maharashtra’s forensic medicine post cuts spark concerns over medico-legal services

MAHARASHTRArsquos decision to restructure faculty posts in Forensic Medicine and Toxicology FMT departments across government medical colleges could have consequences extending beyond medical education with specialists warning that reduced manpower may put additional pressure on doctors handling medicolegal autopsies and affect services ultimately relied upon by the common publicThe restructuring could also narrow government career opportunities for medical students pursuing postgraduate courses in forensic medicine as the state has ordered the surrender of 26 posts while reducing the overall sanctioned strength by 19 postsThe Medical Education and Drugs Department through a Government Resolution dated August 31 2026 has revised the sanctioned strength of FMT departments based primarily on National Medical Commission NMC norms and annual student intake The government has described the exercise as rationalisation and redistribution of manpowerHandling autopsiesForensic medicine departments have a role that goes well beyond classroom teaching Their faculty teach undergraduate and postgraduate students while also conducting or supervising medicolegal postmortems including custodial deaths preparing medicolegal reports and examining cases referred by police and investigating agencies Specialists argue that the number of students in a medical college may not reflect the workload of its mortuary An institution may have limited student strength but serve a large geographical area and handle a substantial number of unnatural suspicious custodial and other medicolegal deathsExpertSpeakA forensic surgeonlsquoFaculty redistribution should be based on the actual workload of hospitals including the number of medicolegal cases patients and postmortems NMC norms prescribe staffing for teaching requirements while forensic departments also provide crucial services to the hospital Home Department and judiciary Major institutions such as BJ Medical CollegeSassoon Grant Medical CollegeJJ Hospital and GMC Aurangabad handle a huge volume of patients and medicolegal cases Any reduction of posts could adversely affect the quality and timely delivery of forensic servicesrsquo147 posts reduced to 128The restructuring brings down the overall sanctioned FMT strength from 147 to 128 posts While Professor posts have been increased by five Associate Professor and Assistant Professor posts have been reduced by nine and 15 respectively The government has simultaneously sanctioned seven additional posts at selected colleges suggesting that the exercise is intended as redistribution rather than a uniform reduction across all institutions However 26 posts have been earmarked for surrenderAt a glanceExisting FMT strength 147 postsRevised strength 128 postsNet reduction 19 postsProfessor posts From 31 to 36Associate Prof posts From 49 to 40Assistant Prof posts From 67 to 52Additional posts sanctioned 7Posts earmarked for surrender 26Shrinking opportunitiesSpecialists point out that the reduction in Associate Professor and Assistant Professor posts could reduce the number of government positions available for fresh recruitment as well as career progression This could become significant for doctors completing postgraduate forensic medicine qualifications and looking towards government medical colleges for academic careers The surrender of posts could have a longterm effect because a post that is surrendered after an incumbent retires or is relieved may no longer be available for fresh recruitment The move could consequently affect the promotion ladderTeaching vs autopsy workloadUnlike many other medical specialities FMT departments are closely linked to the criminal justice system Faculty members have to balance teaching examinations and research with medicolegal duties including postmortems and police cases The Government Resolution focuses on academic staffing requirements under NMC norms but does not prescribe staffing based on the number of autopsies or medicolegal cases handledNight duties add pressureThe workload at an autopsy centre also does not follow college teaching hours Bodies may arrive at government mortuaries at any time following accidents suspected suicides homicides custodial deaths and other medicolegal incidents Forensic faculty may therefore be required to supervise or conduct examinations outside normal working hoursConcern regarding JJThe concerns are particularly significant at highvolume institutions such as JJ Hospital where the forensic medicine department has around 25 postgraduate students besides undergraduate and paramedical teaching responsibilities Specialists point out that even if student numbers change the number of bodies requiring medicolegal examination may not correspondingly decline Faculty could therefore end up carrying a greater share of autopsy work while continuing to fulfil academic responsibilitiesSeven posts added 26 to goThe state has approved additional FMT posts at selected institutions including a Professor at BJ Government Medical College Pune Associate Professor posts at government medical colleges in Dhule Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur and Assistant Professor posts at Jalgaon and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar However specialists say the impact will depend on where posts are reduced and where they are added Redistribution that strengthens colleges with higher student intake may satisfy academic requirements but may not necessarily address the workload of major medicolegal centresThe bigger pictureSpecialists want future manpower assessments to consider not only student intake but also annual autopsy numbers police referrals custodial deaths nighttime workload geographical jurisdiction availability of residents and supporting staff and mortuary infrastructure