A ruling by High Court judge Justice Deepthi Amaratunga has found that the Registrar and CEO of the Fiji Medical and Dental Secretariat had no legal authority to demand individual indemnity insurance from dental practitioners.
The decision comes after prominent dentist Dr. Vikash Singh successfully sought judicial review of a complaint filed against him in 2018.
The Registrar had accused Dr. Singh of practicing without a valid license due to non-compliance with new insurance requirements.
In his 34-page judgment on September 17, Justice Amaratunga quashed the complaint and issued a prohibition order preventing the Fiji Medical and Dental Professional Conduct Tribunal from hearing the matter.
The judge ruled that only the Fiji Dental Council (FDC), not the Registrar, is legally empowered under the Medical and Dental Practitioner Act 2010 to determine the form and extent of required insurance.
“There is no evidence of such deliberation or decision by the FDC. Therefore, the Registrar acted beyond his legal authority,” Justice Amaratunga said.
Dr. Singh, who has served as President of the Fiji Dental Association (FDA) since 2010, was covered under a long-standing group insurance scheme recognised by the FDC.
However, the court heard that in 2016, the Registrar unilaterally began requiring individual certificates of insurance without proper consultation or policy change.
The judge found this shift procedurally flawed, lacking in transparency, and a breach of natural justice,
Justice Amaratunga concluded that Dr. Singh held valid group insurance and had paid the required licensing fees, yet was unjustly denied a practising license.
