Stipulation Incorporated In Larger Public Interest: Kerala HC Upholds Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship For Foreign Students

The Kerala High Court has upheld the Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) for foreign students who underwent online classes during the final year due to the COVID-19 pandemic or the Ukraine War.

The Court was deciding a Writ Petition seeking to quash a Note in certificates and declare that the foreign students have to undergo CRMI only for one year.

A Single Bench of Justice C.S. Dias observed, “The stipulation has been incorporated in the larger public interest to ensure that foreign medical graduates are granted permanent registration only after getting adequate practical training as they were unable to attend classes due to the pandemic or the war.”

Senior Advocate Muhammed Youseff represented the Petitioners while Senior Advocate Reghu Raj, Standing Counsel Vivek Menon, and DSGI T.C. Krishna represented the Respondents.

Facts of the Case -

The Petitioners averred that they had undergone a Master of Medicine course at the Odessa National Medical University, Ukraine, equivalent to the MBBS course in India. They did their six-year graduation programme from June 2016 to May 2022 and completed their curriculum in full, with 360 ECTS credits, including practical training. After completing the course, they appeared for the screening test conducted by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and passed the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in December 2022.

As per Regulation 5 of Ext.P5 National Medical Commission (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations, 2021, the CRMI shall not be less than 12 months and must be completed within two years. The Kerala State Medical Commission provided provisional registration to the petitioners as per certificates, valid for two years from the date of registration. However, in Note 3 of the said certificates, it was stipulated that the Petitioners must undergo the CRMI for two years. Hence, this was challenged in the Writ Petition.

The High Court in view of the above facts, noted, “On an evaluation of the facts, the materials and the law, especially on finding that there are no materials to substantiate that the petitioners had undergone their last year of study during the COVID-19 pandemic in the offline mode, I do not find any valid ground to hold that Note 3 in Ext.P5 series is arbitrary or oppressive.”

The Court said that there is no illegality in the condition incorporated in Note 3 and that there is a reasonable nexus between the condition and the object sought to be achieved.

Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the Writ Petition.

Cause Title- Dr. Thahiya Thasleem V S & Anr. v. State of Kerala & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024:KER:93461)

Appearance:

Petitioners: Senior Advocate Muhammed Youseff, Advocates Aysha Youseff, V.K. Sidhique, Sajitha Sidhik, Akheela Farzana, and Anjala Farhath V.S.

Respondents: Senior Advocate Reghu Raj, Sr. GP Deepa Narayanan, Standing Counsel Vivek Menon, and DSGI T.C. Krishna.

Click here to read/download the Judgment