London:
An Indian-origin doctor accused of groping a patient during a chest examination has been cleared of sexual misconduct by a UK tribunal.
Dr Abhijit Banerjee, who qualified as a general physician in Kolkata in 1996, had denied the allegations.
A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing in Manchester ruled on Thursday that the evidence given by the 42-year-old woman, known only as Patient A, was unreliable.
"The panel find that there are too many question marks surrounding patient A's overall credibility for it to put reliance on her evidence which is uncorroborated," it said.
According to 'Court News UK', the patient had claimed that the senior partner GP at the Abbeyview Surgery in Cambridgshire, had groping her during a medical examination.
The UK's General Medical Council (GMC) accused the married father-of-two of "sexually motivated conduct".
The 42-year-old doctor had admitted to not providing a screen to protect the patient's privacy during the consultation on March 13, 2012, but the panel found this did not amount to misconduct.
Having undergone over 60 similar appointments because of her particular medical history of chest problems, she told the Manchester hearing it "just felt wrong" at the hands of Banerjee on the day.
The GP had said the examination was justified and that it was conducted as per his usual practice.