NMC Gives 6 Month Deadline for Filling Up Vacancies in All Medical Colleges

New Delhi: In compliance with the direction passed by Patna High Court, the apex medical council, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has asked the Department of Medical Education of all States and Union Territory governments to take immediate steps to fill vacant posts in the medical teaching service. The court has set a targeted timeline of next six months for the completion of this recruitment process in medical colleges.

In an official communication dated 13.3.2026, Dr Raghav Langer, Secretary has written to the Additional Chief Secretaries/Principal Secretaries/Secretaries of Medical Education Departments across all States/UTs, directing them to start recruitment drives in a time-bound manner.

"I am directed to forward herewith a copy of the judgement dated 17.01.2026 passed by the Hon'ble High Court of Patna in Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 11111 of 2025 (copy enclosed) titled Dr. Shyam Kumar Satyapal & Ors. vs. National Medical Commission & Ors., for necessary compliance on the part of State/UT Governments to initiate appointment / recruitment drive to fill up vacant posts in medical teaching service within a time bound period," the communication mentioned.

The communication has been issued following the judgment of the Patna High Court dated 17.01.2026 in Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 11111 of 2025 titled Dr Shyam Kumar Satyapal & Ors. vs. National Medical Commission & Ors. In the judgment, the court asked NMC to take appropriate action in directing the State Government(s) to initiate an appointment/recruitment drive to fill up a huge number of vacant posts in the medical teaching service within a time-bound period, while hearing a petition about the challenges in the implementation of the Aadhar Enabled Biometric Attendance System.

The Commission further noted that the Court has asked authorities to act quickly and preferably complete the recruitment process within six months from the date of the order.

"The Hon'ble High Court has however, inter-alia directed, for implementation of its observations expeditiously & preferably within 06 months from the date of issue of its order," the commission informed. The relevant extracts of the explicit court directions in the matter further stated

NMC is directed to take appropriate action directing the State Government(s) to initiate appointment/recruitment drive to fill up huge number of vacant posts in medical teaching service within a time bound period. This Court anxiously notes that securing attendance of faculty members will not change the dilapidated health of Health Department of the State(s). On the contrary, the condition must be improved if the vacancies are filled up. This Court is not unmindful to note that if a medical officer or a faculty member is compelled to act continuously for 24 hours or 48 hours or even 72 hours without any break, the tendency of fleeing away and giving false attendance by such over-burdened if not tortured, faculty members, shall remain and though the instant writ petition is dismissed they will try to find out some other means and ways to avoid attendance."

Following the order, the NMC has now directed all States and UTs to take necessary action as per norms.

Background of the case

The dispute arose following a public notice dated April 17, 2025, issued by the Secretary of the National Medical Commission (NMC), which mandates the implementation of face-based Aadhaar authentication along with GPS location sharing for marking attendance of faculty members in all medical colleges and institutions.

The petitioners, who are faculty members serving as Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, Professors, and Heads of Departments in various government medical colleges across Bihar such as Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, Muzaffarpur; Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, Bhagalpur; Government Medical College, Bettiah; Nalanda Medical College and Hospital; Government Medical College, Purnia; and Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital had challenged the directive.

They were aggrieved by the NMC’s public notice dated April 16, 2025, which requires all medical institutions under its jurisdiction to shift to a face-based Aadhaar authentication system for attendance from May 1, 2025.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that, in a move to streamline faculty attendance and leverage biometric technology, the National Medical Commission (NMC) announced that all medical colleges and institutions will transition to a face-based Aadhaar authentication system via the NMC AEBAS platform from May 1, 2025. At present, all private/ government medical colleges in the country are marking attendance of faculty and staff through the AEBAS (Aadhar Enabled Biometric Attendance System) system.

The new system, replacing the current fingerprint-based biometric authentication, aims to improve user-friendliness and enhance accuracy in attendance marking. FACE-based Aadhaar Authentication, already deployed in other government offices through NIC, will now be implemented across medical institutions using a mobile app-based interface.

However, the petitioners in the court mentioned that the notice included specific implementation, including the requirement that attendance must be marked within a 100-meter radius of designated GPS locations within the college premises. Institutions are required to define these GPS points, and faculty members must install a face-based Aadhaar authentication application on their mobile phones.

The petitioners contended that the mandatory use of face-based Aadhaar authentication for attendance violates the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India and K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, which recognised the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right under the Constitution.

However, NMC filed a counter affidavit defending its decision that in its annual report "2022-2023", NMC held that AEBAS is mandatory because of shortcomings of finger-based biometrics.

Considering the arguments, the Patna High Court dismissed the petition, stating that there was no merit in the challenge. The Bench held that if the NMC introduces a full proof attendance system for faculty members, such a system should not be scrapped on the grounds of arbitrariness and unconstitutionality.

At the same time, the court noted that there are a large number of vacant posts in medical teaching services across states. It said that simply monitoring the attendance of faculty members will not improve the condition of the healthcare system, and instead pointed out addressing the vacancies. The court order mentioned

"While dismissing the instant writ petition and holding the decision taken by the NMC for Aadhar linked biometric attendance by the faculty members in medical colleges and hospitals, though the instant writ petition does not rise the issue, the NMC is directed to take appropriate action directing the State Government(s) to initiate appointment / recruitment drive to fill up huge number of vacant posts in medical teaching service within a time bond period,"

To view the NMC notice, click on the link below:

Also read- NMC implements Face-Based Aadhaar Attendance in Medical Colleges