HC quashes medical council order requiring foreign qualified doctors to add 'equivalent to MBBS in India' suffix

Kochi: The Kerala High Court has quashed notices issued by the Travancore Cochin Medical Council directing them to add the suffix 'equivalent to MBBS in India' along with their names and degrees.

Single Bench Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed, "There were no regulations or guidelines issued by the Medical Council of India, the authority competent to issue such directives mandating such a requirement. In the absence of any regulation or guideline authorising the same, the State Medical Council could not compel doctors to modify their name boards or letterheads"

The order was passed by the bench while hearing a petition filed by doctors who had completed medical degrees, such as MD (Physician) or MD (Doctor of Medicine) from foreign universities. 

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Foreign medical degrees equivalent to MBBS in India include the M.D. (Physician) from countries including Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, MBChB from the UK and New Zealand, MD from the USA and Canada, and MBBS from Australia. These qualifications must meet NMC criteria, including a minimum 54-month duration, 12-month internship, and passing the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE).

As per the latest media report by TOI, the doctors had challenged the notices issued by the State Medical Council, which required them to mention on their name boards and letterheads that their foreign MD degree is “equivalent to MBBS in India.”

While examining the matter, the Court noted that there were no regulations or guidelines issued by the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI), now National Medical Commission (NMC) mandating such a requirement. The Court observed that in the absence of any such regulation, the State Medical Council could not compel doctors to alter their name boards or official documents.

The bench further referred to an earlier judgment in a similar case. In that case, it was held that although doctors cannot be forced to publicly display the equivalency phrase, they are required to submit their registration certificates to the State Medical Council. The Council can then issue an endorsement stating that the foreign MD or similar qualification is equivalent to MBBS in India.

Following the same reasoning, the Court directed the petitioners in the present case to complete the endorsement process with the Council. With this direction, the writ petition was allowed and the impugned notices were set aside.

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