HC relief to FMG, Andhra Pradesh Medical Council ordered to issue permanent registration

Amaravati: Granting relief to a Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG), the Andhra Pradesh High Court recently directed the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council to immediately grant him a permanent registration to practice medicine in the country.

According to the NMC guidelines issued last year on 19th June, FMGs would be eligible for one year internship if the students duly compensated for their online studies. While APMC argued that it could not ascertain the genuineness of the compensatory certificates submitted by him, a division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Ravi Cheemalapati observed that the burden was on APMC to disprove the veracity of the document.

"Therefore, the respondent no.1, who is suspecting the veracity of the document, shall ensure the validity of the documents and obtain necessary particulars that are essential for issuing Permanent Registration Certificates/Final Registration Certificates from the University through Indian Embassy with the least possible delay. Upon such, if the appellant is found eligible for one year mandatory internship as specified in the CRMI Regulations, 2021 as per public notice dated 19.06.2024; since he had already completed the same, Permanent Registration Certificate/Final Registration Certificate shall be issued to him," ordered the HC bench.

Accordingly, the Court directed the Medical Council to ascertain genuinity of the confirmation letter dated 08.09.2022 and the verification letter dated 25.12.2024 issued by the Parent University and also get information if any required from the said University through Indian Embassy and if the student is found to have met the necessary criterion set by NMC in the notice dated, 19.06.2024, APMC shall issue Permanent Registration Certificate to him. The Court has ordered that this entire exercise shall be completed within one month from the date of the order.

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The concerned petitioner, along with other FMGs, had earlier filed a plea before the Single Judge bench, which had dismissed their plea. These petitioners completed five years of medical courses abroad (Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, and Kazakhstan) equivalent to the MBBS course in India and accordingly obtained study certificates. They cleared the FMGE Screening test and underwent one year of internship. Allegedly, APMC refused to issue Permanent Registration Certificates to them even after completion of internship.

On the other hand, APMC relied on NMC public notice, issued after the Supreme Court's order, as per which, FMGs have to undergo two years of internship to make up for the clinical training which they could not physically attend during undergraduate medicine course in the foreign institutes.

APMC also highlighted that NMC issued subsequent guidelines on 22.11.2023 and 07.12.2023 stating that the FMGs who studied in online mode during their final year and penultimate years of their study, have to undergo two/three years of internship. The Council argued that since the petitioners have not sufficiently compensated their online study for being in India, it did not consider their request to issue Permanent Registrations after completion of one year internship as they were also instructed to continue their internship for one more year.

The Council also argued that the letter of foreign universities stating that online education was supplemented with offline training did not provide adequate evidence that online learning was equivalent to offline training. Further, APMC submitted that the verification of medical degrees through the Indian Embassy is under process and the confirmations are also being received in phased manner and permanent registrations will be issued to the eligible FMGs as per NMC guidelines after confirming the genuineness of their medical degrees.

The Council pointed out that only four petitioners filed certificates/confirmation letters, as per which their course was from 2017 to 2022 and 2016 to 2021 and though they contended that they studied fourth year but not final year during COVID pandemic, there was no material to show that they attended classes during the pandemic period from June 2021 to June 2022 in offline mode.

Although the single judge bench dismissed the plea, the petitioner challenged it before the division bench of the High Court. The counsel for the petitioner contended that since the appellant successfully compensated all the practical studies in physical form in the university, which he missed during the pandemic and had given the final exams in person, the circular dated 09.05.2023 would not apply to him. Referring to the visa entries in the passport, the counsel for the petitioner claimed that the petitioner attended the online course for six months only and the said six months online course was compensated in the final year and therefore, as per NMC notice dated 19.06.2024, since the petitioner had sufficiently compensated classes in physical online in lieu of the online classes, he was eligible for one year mandatory internship, but not for Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship for two years.

Relying on the confirmation letter dated 08.09.2022 issued by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic, Osh State University, the counsel argued that the petitioner successfully compensated all practical classes and therefore, he was eligible for one-year mandatory internship.

However, the counsel for APMC argued that the confirmation letter dated 08.09.2022 issued by the University was not genuine and it lacked particulars of periods of online and offline study underwent by the appellant and therefore, it could not be considered to extend the benefit of one year internship to the appellant.

While considering the matter, the HC bench perused the NMC guidelines issued on 09.05.2023, 07.06.2024 and 19.06.2024 and noted that in the last notice, NMC clarified that the students who sufficiently compensated classes in public onsite in lieu of the online classes and subsequently passed examination equivalent to MBBS in India, shall be eligible for one year Compulsory Mandatory Internship as specified in the CRMI Regulations, 2021.

"The communication dated 19.11.2024 of the national Medical Commission would indicate that all the State Medical Councils are directed to invariably seek confirmation of medical degrees from the concerned foreign Medical College/University through concerned Indian Embassy/High Commission either before granting Permanent Registration or before recommending them for registration in National Medical Register (NMR)," noted the HC.

"The letter dated 16.12.2024 placed on record would indicate that in pursuance of the communication dated 19.11.2024; the Embassy of India, Kyrgyzstan addressed the letter to the Rector, Osh State University requesting for confirmation of the authenticity of the documents/degree/ diploma in respect of some of the Indian students enlisted therein and also seeking further details. In the said list the appellant/writ petitioner No.13 was found at Sl.No.10," it further observed.

The court noted that in response to the request dated 16.12.2024, the Rector, Osh State University, vide verification letter dated 25.12.2024 furnished the details as sought by Embassy of India, Kyrgyzstan. According to the said confirmation letter, the appellant did the course by attending online classes during the period September,2020 to June,2021, however, he compensated for the same in offline mode with additional classes.

Accordingly, the Court observed, "The confirmation letter dated 08.09.2022 and the verification letter dated 25.12.2024 make the things clear that the appellant had compensated all the practical studies which he missed during the pandemic period. If that was so, as per public notice dated 19.06.2024, the petitioner is eligible for one year mandatory internship as specified in the CRMI Regulations, 2021."

Noting that APMC questioned the genuineness of the confirmation letter, the HC bench observed, "It is fairly settled that burden lies on the party who challenges validity of any document. Hence, it is for respondent no.1 to disprove veracity of the documents referred to above."

Granting relief to the FMG, the Court ordered, "In view of the above, this Writ Appeal is disposed of, directing respondent no.1 to ascertain genuinity of confirmation letter dated 08.09.2022 and the verification letter dated 25.12.2024 issued by Osh State University and also get information if any required from the said University through Indian Embassy and thereupon if the appellant is found to have met the necessary criterion of public notice dated 19.06.2024, Permanent Registration Certificate/Final Registration Certificate shall be issued. The entire exercise shall be completed within a period of one (01) month from this day. In the event of their failure to get it done within the time stipulated, the authorities shall issue Permanent Registration Certificate/Final Registration Certificate, after fulfilling other formalities, if any, required. There shall be no order as to costs."

To view the order, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/apmc-294504.pdf

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