Eligibility Certificate To Attempt FMGE “Screening Test” Cannot Be Issued After Obtaining Degree From Foreign Medical Institution: Delhi HC
The Delhi High observed that the eligibility certificate to appear in the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) –“Screening Test” cannot be issued after obtaining a degree from a foreign medical institution and it has to be obtained prior to the admission.
The Bench of Justice C Hari Shankar observed, “One may well imagine the plight of a student, such as the petitioner, who was educated entirely in Philippines, and who obtained her MD degree as per the law applicable in Philippines, being told, on returning to India and applying for an Eligibility Certificate to attempt the FMGE, that it is too late. If the NMC is, therefore, entertaining the request of such a student for grant of Eligibility Certificate on merits, it is a wholesome dispensation, but, unfortunately, is contrary to Section 13(4B) of the IMC Act and Regulation 4(2) of the Screening Test Regulations. As a court of law, I find it difficult to affix my judicial seal of approval to this course of action.”
Advocate Sudhir Naagar appeared for the Petitioner whereas CGSC Ripu Daman Bhardwaj and Advocate Tanoodbhav Singhdev appeared for the Respondents.
The Petitioner, who has completed her Doctor of Medicine (‘MD’) from the Philippines, assailed the rejection of an application for issuance of an Eligibility Certificate by the National Medical Commission (‘NMC’) on grounds that the Petitioner joined Davao Medical School Foundation Inc. (‘DMSFI’) before completing her schooling which was not acceptable as per the Regulations of the NMC.
The Petitioner sought to practice medicine in India for which she has to appear in the FMGE-“Screening Test”.
The Court discussed Section 13 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, and said “In view of this concluding caveat in Section 13(4B), it is clear that, as the petitioner is a citizen of India, and had obtained the MD qualification from the DMSFI without obtaining the Eligibility Certificate from the MCI, she is not eligible to appear in the FMGE. Section 13(4B) does not, expressly or impliedly, envisage obtaining of the Eligibility Certificate after obtaining the PMQ from the foreign medical institution…Allowing the petitioner to obtain the Eligibility Certificate from the MCI/NMC at this stage, after she has already obtained the MD qualification from the DMSFI would, therefore, do violence to Section 13(4B).”
Referring to Regulation 4(2) of the Screening Test Regulations, the Court said that the eligibility regulations are clear and categorical and they envisage obtaining an Eligibility Certificate only prior to joining the medical course from the foreign institutions.
“Regulation 4 of the Screening Test Regulations, read with sub-Regulation (2) thereunder, clearly stipulates that “no person shall be allowed to appear in the screening test unless “he/she had obtained ‘Eligibility Certificate’ from the Medical Council of India as per the ‘Eligibility Requirement for taking admission in an undergraduate medical course in a Foreign Medical Institution Regulations, 2002”. The Eligibility Regulations, clearly, envisage obtaining of an Eligibility Certificate only prior to taking admission in the medical course abroad, and not thereafter.”, the Court said.
Further, the Court relied upon the landmark judgment In Re: Indian Doctors from Russia Welfare Association (2002 SC), in which the Supreme Court was concerned with the plight of persons who had obtained medical qualifications from colleges in the erstwhile USSR and, after the disintegration of the USSR, faced difficulties in obtaining admission to recognised colleges. Further difficulties, in the matter of recognition of the qualifications obtained from such colleges by the MCI in India, to enable such students to practice medicine here, also arose. The Supreme Court had called upon the Government of India to formulate an appropriate policy, keeping in mind the human problem that had arisen.
The Court observed, “Thus, in para 4(iii) of the decision, the Supreme Court held that, as per the Eligibility Regulations, any Indian citizen, desirous of taking admission in an undergraduate medical course abroad on or after 15 March 2002, has necessarily to obtain an Eligibility Certificate from MCI, and that the said certificate, obtained prior to taking admission in the medical course abroad, would have to be produced at the time of appearing in the screening test, undertaken after obtaining the PMQ from abroad, for obtaining registration in India. Para 4(iii), therefore, clearly holds that the Eligibility Certificate, which is to be produced by the candidate for appearing in the FMGE and subsequent registration in India, is the Eligibility Certificate obtained prior to joining the medical course abroad. This clearly militates against obtaining their Eligibility Certificate after having completed the medical course abroad, resulting in the award of the PMQ.”
The Court also placed its reliance on the judgments of the Delhi High Court in Ishan Kaul & Ors. vs Medical Council Of India & Anr. (2009 DHC) and Rohinish Pathak vs Medical Council Of India and Anr. (2019). The Court concluded,“Following the above discussion, as the petitioner never applied for the Eligibility Certificate before joining the MD course in the DMSFI, and in view of Section 13(4B) of the IMC Act and Regulation 4(2) of the Screening Test Regulations, read with the judgments in Indian Doctors from Russia Welfare Association, Ishan Kaul and Rohinish Pathak, I am constrained to hold that the petitioner was required, in law, to obtain the Eligibility Certificate before joining the MD course in DMSFI and, having not done so, is ipso facto ineligible to appear in the FMGE or register as a medical practitioner in India.”
The Court suggested that the Executive may consider whether the IMC Act should be amended, or suitable changes introduced in the Screening Test Regulations particularly in Regulation 4 thereof, as would permit issuance of an Eligibility Certificate to a student who had obtained the PMQ from abroad without, in the first instance, having been issued an Eligibility Certificate before joining the foreign medical course, and who was otherwise found fulfilling the requirements for grant of Eligibility Certificate.
Accordingly, the Court dismissed the writ petition.
Cause Title: Hemica Rani Singh v. National Medical Commission and Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:4699)
Appearances:
Petitioner: Advocates Sudhir Naagar and Piyush Aggarwal
Respondents: CGSC Ripu Daman Bhardwaj, Advocates Tanoodbhav Singhdev, Kushagra Kumar, Bhanu Gulati and Abhijit Chakravarty.
