The 7th general annual meeting of Medico-legal Society of Nepal was held on 2079-05-31 (September 16, 2022) at Smart Banquet Dhumbarahi Kathmandu. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Eugene Dolma the Chair parson of the Society.
The agenda of the meeting were as follow:
- Presentation of annual report by Chair Person
- Presentation of Auditor’s Report of MELESON of the FY 2078/079
- Discussion on Chair person’s report and auditor’s report
- Election for new Executive Committee of the society
- Hand over the authority from existing committee to new executive committee.
- Address by new Chairperson to general meeting
- Appointment of New Auditor for current fiscal year
- Closure
During the address by Chairperson the following points were highlighted:
- The total members of the society have reached to 66
- Successful conduction of an online competition in the topic “Medicos against Gender Based Violence” among medical, dental and paramedical undergraduate students from different medical and dental colleges of Nepal. The program was supported by Laxmi Bank and Asian Thai Foods (P) Ltd.
- Active involvement of MELESON in the mission of “Search for the Missing”, with the main function of Commission for the Investigation of Enforced Disappearance of Persons (CIEDP) for providing the support for ante-mortem data analysis, Orientation Workshop for ante-mortem data collection, Refresher Workshop on Exhumation and deployment of Society members for field work for ante-mortem data collection and verification. Four teams of forensic experts were deployed in the field work at different Districts of Nepal; Rolpa, Kailali, Siraha and Gorkha.
- First MeLeQuiz 2079 (Quiz contest in Medico-Legal Subject) was successfully organized by MELESON with the objective of sharing knowledge in the field of forensic medicine among medical students and raising awareness about importance of the subject in the development of medico-legal awareness. A total of 18 teams from 11 different Medical Colleges and Health Science Academies participated the contest which is historical event in the country.
- The Society needs collective work for the development of this ignored field
Auditor’s report was discussed in general meeting and passed by all members and thanked for timely audit and report providing. Kul Chandra Sharma and Associates was proposed for auditing the financial activities of the Society for current year 2079/080 which was also passed anonymously.
Opened discussion was held and most of the members raised following issues which should be addressed through activities of new executive committee with proposals and follow-up in concerned authorities. The main concerns of the members were:
- Request to Ministry of Health and population on revision of autopsy allowances which was not revised since 23 years and remuneration on clinical medico-legal works
- To request for creation of posts of Forensic Medicine Officer in all province and similar or larger level hospitals of the country. Request to MoHP.
- To run all existing OCMCs of many hospitals of the country by Forensic Medical Officers as far as possible. Request to MoHP.
- Permission to run PG study in forensic medicine at only for those Health Sciences Academy or Colleges where medico legal service including autopsy service is provided. Request to Medical Education Commission.
- At least two weeks of compulsory rotatory internship after completion of MBBS course in all Medical Colleges and Health Science Academies. Request to MEC, HSAs and Universities.
- To draw attention of concerned authority for upliftment of physical facilities in all hospitals of the country. Request to MoHP.
- To draw attention of the MoHP for the management of the data of medico-legal service work at all hospitals. Request to MoHP and Department of Health.
- To draw attention in the uniformities in travelling and daily allowances for expert witness testimony in courts of Nepal. Request to Nepal Police and Attorney General’s Offices
Report by Convener of election committee:
The executive committee had formed a three-member election committee with Prof. Dr. Pramod Shrestha’s convenorship. The committee followed the procedures as per Bidhan of the Society and declared result of new executive committee for the two-year tenure 2079-2081. There was election process for the position of Chairperson and four members on the same day of annual meeting. Voting was conducted by both physical and online process within specified time. Out of 66 total members of the Society, 57 participated for voting.
The result of election was as follow:
Prof. Dr. Harihar Wasti – Chairperson elected by majority
Dr. Arbin Shakya -Vice Chairperson unanimously
Dr. Kaschev Shrestha -Secretory unanimously
Dr. Samjhana Ghimire -Treasurer unanimously
Dr. madan Prasad Baral – Member elected by majority
Dr. Salmali Yadav -Member elected by majority
Dr. Sabnam Shrestha -Member elected by majority
Dr. Dhiraj Kumar Shah -Member elected by majority
Dr. Eugene Dolma -Immediate Past Chair ex-officio
Finally, The Chairperson of the Society, Dr. Eugene Dolma handed over the authority of executive committee to newly elected Chairperson Prof. Dr. Harihar Wasti and the team with wish of successful tenure.
Prof Dr. Harihar Wasti addressed the meeting with thanks for believing on new team to run the activities of the Society for upcoming years on behalf of newly elected executive committee and made commitments to try the best for development of the medico-legal field with the help of all members of the society. The annual meeting was concluded and closed by the Chairperson of the meeting.