FMGs from Philippines move HC challenging Internship rule, notice issued to NMC, Gujarat Medical Council

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has sought to know the stand of the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Gujarat Medical Council (GMC) regarding the rules mandating one-year internship in India for foreign medical graduates to get permanent registration.

While considering a plea filed by a batch of medical graduates from the Phillippines, who have challenged the NMC rule in this regard, the HC bench of Justice Vaibhavi Nanavati has issued a notice to the NMC and GMC.

The plea has been filed by 47 FMGs who obtained their Doctor of Medicine degree from various universities in the Phillippines. When they came back to India, after completing their medical education, they were required to pass the mandatory screening test, Foreign Medical Graduates Examination. This is a must for the FMGs to become eligible to enroll or practice as medical practitioners in India.

However, when these doctors applied to the State Medical Council in Gujarat seeking permanent registration, the Council refused to grant them registration while referring to the NMC notice issued on November 18, 2021. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that The Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship Registration (CRMI), released in the year 2021 had clarified that after clearing the FMGE, the medical graduates from abroad will have to undergo one-year mandatory internship programme in India.

Also Read: NMC releases FAQs on CRMI Regulations 2021, Details

As per the latest media report by the Times of India, now the NMC Internship norm for the FMGs has been challenged before the Gujarat High Court and the counsel for the FMGs, Tulsi Savani argued that the students have completed their medical education in Philippines and as a part of their degree programme, they have already completed a one-year internship programme there.

Further, the students completed their studies before November 18, 2021, when the CRMI regulations came into effect. Referring to this, the counsel for the FMGs argued that the concerned rules and regulations would not be applicable for the petitioner students. With this submission, the counsel for the students urged the HC bench for issuing directions to the authorities to grant permanent registration to the petitioner students.

Besides, the counsel for the students also referred to the fact that such medical graduates from abroad, who have come back to India to practice medicine, are not subjected to CRMI rules in other states. However, GMC insists on implementing the rules even though they are not applicable for the petitioner students.

After taking note of the submissions, the HC bench issued notice to the  NMC and GMC and sought to know their response in this regard within Wednesday. Apart from this, the court has also allowed the petitioners to apply for CRMI and provisional registration, clarifying that it will be subject to the final outcome of the petition.

Meanwhile, another batch of medicos from Philippines have filed a similar plea on Tuesday before the HC and sought the similar relief.

Also Read: Medical Students from Ukraine Upset with NMC's 2-year Internship Rule, stage protest