Supreme Court: In a writ petition challenging the arbitrary and unreasonable inaction on the part of the respondents in failing to initiate the process of Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship for Foreign Medical Graduates (‘FMGs’) from the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, a Division Bench comprising BV Nagarathna and KV Vishwanathan, JJ. issued a notice to National Medical Commission (‘NMC’)returnable on 01-09-2025.
The NMC, through its notification dated 18-11-2021, promulgated the National Medical Commission (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations, 2021 (‘CRMI Regulations’). Rule 3 of these regulations unequivocally stated that CRMI shall be an integral part of the undergraduate medical education degree. The CRMI regulations mandated that medical graduates must undergo rotational postings in all clinical departments of a hospital. Moreover, Rule 4 of the CRMI Regulations placed a statutory bar on granting permanent registration to any medical student who had not completed the CRMI in India, as outlined in Schedule II of the CRMI Regulations.
The petitioners, who had successfully completed their undergraduate medical degrees from foreign universities, had returned to India with the bona fide intent of serving the country. Despite having appeared for and successfully cleared the NBE Screening Test, thereby becoming fully eligible to undergo the CRMI, the petitioners were left in a state of uncertainty and distress, as the respondents had failed to issue any notification to commence the internship since January 2025.
It was submitted that the inordinate and unexplained delay had resulted in the petitioners remaining unemployed for the past six months, causing severe financial hardships and unjustifiably impeding the progression of their professional careers. It was pointed out that, except for the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, most other states across the country had already commenced the CRMI process for FMGs. The FMGs from Kerala and Tamil Nadu were being arbitrarily and discriminatorily denied the opportunity to complete their CRMI, thereby depriving them of the right to earn a livelihood and contribute to the nation’s healthcare system.
Thus, the petitioners prayed for a direction to the respondents to initiate the CRMI process for FMGs and immediately allocate the CRMI to the petitioners.
[Association of Doctors and Medical Students v. National Medical Commission, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1722, decided on 12-08-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For Petitioner(s): Ms. Tanvi Dubey, AOR, Mr. Yash Dubey, Adv., Mr. Mekala Ganesh Kumar Reddy, Adv., Mr. Vansh Chauhan, Adv., Mr. Yugal Jain, Adv.