Authority: National Company Law Appellate Tribunal Principal Bench, New Delhi

Order Date: 10th September, 2026

Case Overview

The appeal was filed by Dr. Deepak Verma and Dr. Sanjay Goyal (Appellants No.1 and 2) against respondents including Ajay Somani, Pradeep Pal, and multiple doctors associated with Sparsh Multispecialty Hospital Private Limited. The case originated from NCLT proceedings (CP No.61/CB/2022 and CA No.11/CB/2025) where serious allegations of oppression and mismanagement were made against the appellants, who served as Managing Director, Director and Medical Superintendent of the hospital.

The principal allegations included fraudulent and arbitrary practices, improper billing mechanisms, exorbitant patient charges causing financial loss to the company, and violations of the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Specific findings from various investigations revealed 11 major irregularities including: patients not physically present despite being billed under the scheme, poor ward maintenance standards, absence of duty doctors, extra money charged beyond package rates, expired bio-medical waste management NOC, missing blood bank and lift licenses, incomplete doctor availability, and most seriously - bribery offered to visiting inspection teams.

The District Magistrate, Durg had previously imposed a fine of ₹20,000 and directed refund of ₹1,81,462 taken excessively from a patient's relatives. The State Nodal Agency had also imposed a penalty of ₹22,44,700 on the hospital for misconduct and medical lapses. The hospital was de-empaneled from Ayushman Bharat scheme on 7th February 2025, though later re-empaneled on technical grounds after High Court intervention.

Final Outcome

The NCLAT rejected the interim relief application (I.A. No. 5254–5256 of 2026) and upheld the NCLT's decision to appoint an administrator. However, due to conflict of interest concerns with the originally appointed administrator (Shri Deep Chandra Joshi, former Acting President of NCLT Delhi who had previously handled the case judicially), the tribunal replaced him with Dr. Prabhat Pandey (M.D. Medicine), retired from Govt. District Hospital Durg, as the new administrator. Dr. Pandey will receive a monthly fee of ₹2,50,000 payable by the company. The appeal was listed for next hearing on 18th November 2026.

Topics: Corporate Governance, Healthcare Regulation, NCLT Proceedings