Quebec doctor convicted of assault, counselling an offence

LAVAL – A doctor in Quebec has been found guilty of two counts of assault and one count of counselling a person to commit an offence that was not committed.

Quebec Court Judge Frédéric Bénard found that Sanjeev Sirpal asked his then-girlfriend to create a false diary entry suggesting that she’d witnessed one of his patients wearing a Nazi symbol and making a racist remark in a Montreal-area waiting room.

Bénard told a courtroom in Laval, Que., that Sirpal had urged the woman to fabricate the story to discredit the patient, who had complained about him to the province’s doctor’s college.

The judge said Sirpal bought the notebook used to create the diary, and reviewed a draft version of the story in order to make suggestions.

As the woman later testified, “what is found in this document was pure invention and was not true,” he told the court.

“(The complainant) explained that she had done this to help him, while specifying that she has felt a lot of pressure,” the judge said.

The patient ultimately decided not to move forward with a complaint, and therefore the diary was never used in Sirpal’s defence or viewed by anyone besides the accused, the judge said. 

He acquitted Sirpal of a charge of obstruction of justice, noting that the “material evidence of the offence was therefore not committed.”

The judge also concluded that Sirpal assaulted the ex-girlfriend in August and December 2020.

The first assault happened at Sirpal’s home, where the complainant testified that he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her after hearing that a colleague had expressed interest in her.

The second happened while she was driving him to work later that year. The woman testified that he lost his temper and grabbed and pulled at the steering wheel on two occasions, before punching her in the chest and grabbing and bending her finger hard after she stopped the vehicle.

The judge acquitted Sirpal of a charge of dangerous driving.

Bénard said Sirpal and the complainant presented opposing versions of the events in question. Sirpal had denied any wrongdoing and had tried to paint the accused’s testimony as inconsistent, but the judge found her to be credible.

“The complainant’s testimony is not perfect, it does not have to be, but the court considers it to be trustworthy in accordance with the truth,” the judge said, adding that “the court does not believe the accused.”

Prosecutor Nicolas Désilets-Laforge said he welcomed the judgment, noting that the judge “considered that the complainant was credible and reliable.” 

Sirpal’s lawyer listened to the decision by video conference, and did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Sirpal, who wore a grey suit and sat in front of the judge as the verdict was read, did not comment.

The case returns to court for a sentencing hearing on Oct. 15.

Documents from Quebec’s doctor’s college say he was born in the United States and studied in Canada, the U.S. and St. Lucia before joining the province’s order of doctors in 2019.

The college revoked Sirpal’s permit in 2022, after concluding that he had provided fraudulent information when applying. He appealed the decision but lost.

Sirpal has also worked as a doctor in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

He was removed from the interprovincial Atlantic Registry as of March 20, 2025. A few months later, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick also suspended his licence.

Nova Scotia RCMP charged Sirpal with sexual assault in August 2025 after officers received a complaint about an alleged assault during an assessment in an emergency room at Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre near Amherst in northern Nova Scotia.

Sirpal was released on conditions after his arrest, Nova Scotia RCMP said.

The case in Nova Scotia is due to return to court on Tuesday for a decision on pretrial applications. The trial is scheduled to be heard by a judge at the Amherst Provincial Court in November.

While practising in northwestern New Brunswick, Sirpal worked at the Edmundston Regional Hospital, according to the province’s physician registry.

Sirpal graduated from the Spartan Health Sciences University School of Medicine in St. Lucia in 2013. The school is no longer accredited by a regional health education authority in the Caribbean after failing to meet standards.

The Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professions gave provisional accreditation to the school in 2013, while flagging numerous issues of concern. The authority revoked the school’s accreditation in 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2026.

With files from Tori Fitzpatrick and Michael MacDonald in Halifax