Suleman Patel v General Optical Council

Facts

Mr Patel, a registered optometrist, was found by the Fitness to Practise Committee of the General Optical Council on 5 January 2024, after a 17-day hearing, to have committed serious misconduct involving dishonesty. The Committee found his fitness to practise currently impaired and suspended him for nine months, with the suspension not to take effect pending any appeal. He appealed to the High Court under s. 23G(3) of the Opticians Act 1989. Richard Clayton KC, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, heard the appeal remotely in the Administrative Court on 20 November 2024. He did so reclining in bed while recovering from surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon, and said during the hearing that he had difficulty navigating PDF bundles and taking notes. On 6 December 2024 he read out a "draft" oral judgment. There followed more than a year of delay: a purported approved judgment appeared on Westlaw without having been given to the parties; emails chasing the judgment went unanswered; and at a hearing on 20 January 2026 the Deputy Judge refused permission to appeal. The final judgment dismissing the appeal was sent to the parties on 17 March 2026. No order disposing of the appeal has been made, and the consequential issues, including costs, remain undetermined. Mr Patel applied to the Court of Appeal for permission to bring a second appeal, one day out of time. His sole ground was procedural irregularity.