High Court orders erasure of GP for serious misconduct in GMC v Konathala

In General Medical Council v Konathala [2025] EWHC 2039 (Admin), the High Court has overturned a Medical Practitioners Tribunal (MPT) decision to suspend the appellant doctor, ruling that erasure from the medical register was the only appropriate sanction for serious sexual misconduct.

The respondent doctor, a GP with a previously unblemished 42-year career, was found to have conducted an unjustified and sexually motivated breast examination on a young female patient who had attended for ankle pain and a repeat contraceptive prescription. The MPT concluded that the examination lacked clinical justification, was performed without consent or a chaperone, and involved inappropriate physical contact. Despite these findings, the tribunal imposed a 12-month suspension with review.

The General Medical Council (GMC) appealed under section 40A of the Medical Act 1983, arguing that the sanction was insufficient to protect the public. Mr Justice Mould rejected procedural objections raised by the respondent doctor and upheld two of the GMC’s four grounds of appeal. He found that the tribunal had wrongly assessed the doctor’s insight, given his continued denial and lack of meaningful reflection, and had failed to properly apply paragraph 109 of the Sanctions Guidance, which strongly indicates erasure in cases of serious sexual misconduct.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Mould ruled that the tribunal’s decision was “wrong in law” and did not adequately reflect the gravity of the misconduct. He emphasised the need to maintain public confidence in the profession and concluded that erasure was the only proportionate response, citing the abuse of trust, violation of patient dignity, and the doctor’s limited insight.

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