Delhi HC issues notice to Centre, others on MBBS students' plea challenging NMC regulations
Sep 15, 2022
New Delhi [India] September 15 : The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought responses from the Union of India, the National Medical Commission (NMC) and four medical colleges of Punjab on a petition moved by four MBBS students challenging regulations of the NMC.
The petitioner students sought direction from the respondents to restore and confirm the MBBS admission of petitioners at their respective medical colleges in terms of earlier policy i.e. Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997. The petitioners are also seeking direction from the respondents to grant a mercy chance in the form of an additional examination attempt to the petitioners
Petitioners also seek direction for quashing Regulation No. 7.7 of Regulations on Graduate Medical Education (Amendment), 2019 issued by Respondent NMC whereby the said Regulation has been implemented retrospectively with respect to batches admitted in MBBS course from the academic year 2019-20 onwards, stated the plea.
The bench of Justice Satish Chander Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad on Thursday sought the response of all respondents including several medical colleges and deferred the matter for October 7, 2022, after noting that the identical matters are also listed for hearing on the same day.
The Petitioners are residents of Punjab, who have passed Class XII and are presently pursuing their MBBS course in their Medical Colleges I Universities. The Petitioners were admitted to the MBBS Course for the academic year 2019-2020 based on their 'All India Rank' and "Category Rank' in the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) conducted by the National Testing Agency. The Petitioners *are students falling under the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, read the plea.
The plea further stated that the impugned Regulation is discriminatory in retrospective implementation i.e. having different yardsticks for students admitted in different years.
Meanwhile, the Regulations of Graduate Medical Education, 1997 from clauses 2 to 14 contained in Chapters I to V and the Appendices and Schedules appended therein have been included as Part I of the Regulation. These provisions shall be the governing Regulations with respect to batches admitted in MBBS courses until the academic year 2018-19. Part II contains new Chapters that have been added to the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 which shall be the governing Regulations with respect to batches admitted in the MBBS course from the academic year 2019-20 onwards.
The retrospective implementation of Impugned Regulations is in gross violation of principles of natural justice and the action of Respondents in preventing the students from appearing in examination amounts to misuse of the process of law. Due to the non-availability of any remedy against the action of the Respondents, the Petitioner is suffering continuous mental harassment, the plea stated.
