Secondary DNB after IGNOU PG Diploma not allowed: Delhi HC

New Delhi: In a recent judgment, the Delhi High Court bench denied giving relief to a doctor seeking admission to the DNB Family Medicine course. The bench observed that since the Post Graduate Diploma in Maternal and Child Health (PGDMCH) course of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was never recognized as a qualification by the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI), now the National Medical Commission (NMC), the National Board of Examinations (NBE) cannot be compelled to confer a benefit on the basis of such qualification by reducing the period of training for the Diplomate of National Board (DNB).

"The PGDMCH course of IGNOU was never recognized as a qualification by the MCI/NMC, and to compel NBE to confer a benefit on the basis of such a qualification by reducing the period of training for DNB would, in my view, propagate a benefit being granted for a course which the regulator does not recognize," observed the HC bench of Justice Prateek Jalan.

With this observation, the HC bench denied relief to the petitioner doctor who had sought direction to NBE for being allowed to participate in the Post Diploma Centralized Entrance Test Counselling (CETC) on the basis of marks obtained by him in the Post Graduate Diploma in Maternal and Child Health (PGDMCH) course completed from IGNOU. "The case of a regulated profession, such as medicine, is entirely different," clarified the bench.

After completing the MBBS degree from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Medical College, Delhi, the petitioner doctor got admitted to the PGDMCH course at IGNOU back in the year 2018. Following this, the petitioner doctor wished to obtain the DNB FM (Secondary) qualification.

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It was argued by the petitioner that his PGDMCH qualification entitled him for admission in the DNB-FM course as a Secondary candidate. For this, he relied upon a public notice dated 31.03.2010 issued by NBE and the “Guidelines for Competency Based Training Programme in DNBFamily Medicine”, which provided that a holder of the PGDMCH qualification would not be required to appear in the CETC, and could participate in counselling for DNB-FM (Secondary) course.

However, when he applied for DNB-FM in the year 2021, NBE did not provide such a benefit to PGDMCH candidates. When the petitioner raised his grievance with the Prime Minister's Office, he received a response stating that “the PGDMCH course of IGNOU is not recognized by MCI/NMC.”

Thereafter, filing the plea before the Delhi HC bench, the petitioner doctor sought a direction for allotment of a seat in the DNB for Family Medicine (Secondary) course on the basis of the marks obtained by him in the PGDMCH course completed from IGNOU. He also preferred an alternative prayer for allotment of a DNB seat for Obstetrics and Gynecology (Secondary) or Paediatrics (Secondary) course, or a seat in DNB Family Medicine (Primary) course, exempting him from appearing in the entrance exam, and from payment of fee for first year, again on the basis of his PGDMCH qualification.

After considering the matter, the bench referred to the eligibility criteria for DNB-Post Diploma Centralized Entrance Test, which requires a Post Graduate Diploma recognized by the MCI/NMC. However, the bench pointed out that the petitioner doctor admittedly does not possess such a qualification and he has also not challenged the eligibility criteria.

"...I am of the view that the relief sought by the petitioner cannot be granted, both on account of the fact that the Secondary DNB-FM course has been discontinued by NBE, and on the ground that NBE was, in any event, entitled to modify the eligibility criteria in respect of the PGDMCH course," observed the bench.

Relying upon the Supreme Court order in the case of National Board of Examinations v. G. Anand Ramamurthy, the HC bench reiterated that "In any event, an academic body’s right to so decide is well established, and the proposition that courts should not sit in appeal over a policy decision is no longer res integra."

While addressing the alternative prayer of the Petitioner for admission in Post MBBS DNB in Family Medicine without appearing in the NEET-PG examination, the HC bench termed the prayer to be "unmerited" and noted,

"The award of an unrecognized qualification cannot, in any event, confer a right upon the petitioner to an admission to a course without taking the basic qualifying examination."

Further, the bench refused allotment of a sponsored seat in DNB Family Medicine to the petitioner and observed,

"The petitioner’s final submission that he be allotted a Sponsored seat in DNB- Family Medicine also cannot be granted. He is not qualified for the Sponsored seats which are available to government employees. In any event, the request is beyond the scope of writ petition, and has made by way of an additional affidavit dated 26.07.2022, when the admissions to the 2021-22 sessions were already long over. The eligibility criteria for the Sponsored seats also specifies that the admission will be given to NEET-PG qualified candidates. The petitioner cannot claim a vacant seat for which he is not otherwise eligible, merely on the ground that the seat remains vacant. The Supreme Court in Dr. Astha Goel and Others vs. Medical Counselling Committee and Others14 has made this position quite clear."

To read the order, click on the link below:

https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/delhi-hc-211212.pdf

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