17. (1) The Registrar shall keep the register of medical practitioners in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of any orders made by the Council and shall from time to time make all necessary alterations in the registered addresses or appointments and the registered qualifications or titles, of the practitioners entered therein and erase the names of any practitioners who have died or have permanently ceased to practice in India.
(2) To enable the Registrar to fulfill the duties imposed upon him by sub-section (1), he may send through the post a letter to any registered practitioner, addressed to him according to his registered address or appointment, to inquire whether he has ceased to practice or whether his residence or appointment has been changed, and, if no answer to any such letter is received within a period of six months from its dispatch, the Registrar may erase the name of such registered practitioner from the register: Provided that any name erased under this sub-section may be re-entered in the register under the direction of the Council.