Delhi HC quashes NMC regulation banning MBBS migration
New Delhi: In its recent judgment, the Delhi High Court has struck down the blanket ban on migration of MBBS students under the NMC Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023. The bench ruled that such a complete prohibition is manifestly arbitrary and violative of constitutional protections.
A Division Bench comprising the Chief Justice and Justice Tejas Karia ruled that Regulation 18 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, which imposed a total ban on migration of undergraduate medical students, cannot be sustained in law.
“Regulation 18 of Under Graduate Medical Education Board, 2023- “18. Student migration -No student designated to a Medical Institution, notwithstanding anything stating in these regulations, shall seek migration to any other Medical Institution.”
"The decision of the respondent – Commission rejecting the prayer of the petitioner seeking his transfer from respondent no.3 to respondent no.2 based on Regulation 18 is also not justified and sustainable, which is hereby quashed," it said
The Court ruled that the impugned provision violates Article 14 of the Constitution as it fails to account for exceptional and compassionate circumstances.
Besides, the high court directed the authorities to reconsider the transfer request of a visually impaired medical student seeking to migrate from a Rajasthan medical college to Delhi on medical and disability-related grounds.
The court was hearing the plea filed by a medico who suffers from 40 per cent visual impairment. The student cleared NEET-UG 2023 under the Other Backwards Class-Persons with Disabilities category. However, he was initially denied participation in counselling under the PwD category, which moved him to approach the Supreme Court. The apex court then directed authorities to treat him as a PwD candidate.
By the time he was allowed to participate in counselling, only the stray vacancy round remained, leaving him with limited options. He eventually secured admission at Government Medical College, Barmer, Rajasthan.
Thereafter, the student sought migration to Delhi, citing deterioration of his eye condition due to the harsh climate in Barmer and the need for treatment at AIIMS Delhi.
However, his request was rejected by the NMC in December 2024 on the grounds that the 2023 Regulations had removed the migration provision entirely.
The High Court observed that while maintaining uniform standards in medical education is a legitimate objective, imposing a total prohibition on migration ignores real-life contingencies and disproportionately affects deserving students.
On the misuse, the bench said,
Accordingly, there does not appear to be any reason why there should be a complete ban on transfer. If the submission of learned counsel for the respondent Commission to the effect that such complete restriction has been imposed for the reason that permitting the transfer or migration would be prone to misuse, is considered, what we find is that putting a complete prohibition on transfer would not be a solution for meeting such apprehension; rather such migration or transfer could be made subject to fulfillment of certain conditions and it could be permitted only in extremely exceptional circumstances and only in most deserving cases. Putting appropriate conditions on migration/transfer from one medical college to the other can be one of the measures, apart from many others, to check the misuse of such a provision.
The Court emphasised that the possibility of misuse cannot justify the denial of legitimate rights, particularly when reasonable safeguards can be adopted.
The Bench also noted that the petitioner's situation arose largely due to the counselling authorities' failure to recognise his PwD status in time, which deprived him of the opportunity to choose a suitable medical college earlier. Holding him responsible for selecting a distant college under such circumstances was found to be unreasonable.
“In such a situation, holding the petitioner responsible by observing that he was fully aware of his vision impairment and difficulty at the time of opting the seat at Government Medical College, Barmer. Rajasthan and therefore, he could have opted for any college in Delhi, in our opinion, is against all the canons of reasonableness,” the Court said.
Relying on provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Court reiterated that authorities are duty-bound to provide reasonable accommodation and ensure equality and non-discrimination. It held that denying admission to a student whose medical condition had worsened due to environmental factors constitutes a denial of such accommodation.
The Court further underscored that regulatory measures may not disregard human dignity or constitutional protections in pursuit of administrative efficiency.
The Court held that a blanket prohibition, even in exceptional or deserving cases, violates Article 14 of the Constitution and fails to account for the rights of persons with disabilities.
"Reasonableness is a facet of equality, therefore, every action of State or its instrumentality or public authority should be informed of reasonableness. The impugned Regulation 18 of Regulations 2023, for the discussions made above, in our opinion, does not pass the constitutional muster as per Article 14 of the Constitution of India and, accordingly, the same being manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary, is held to be ultra vires. Regulation 18 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulation, 2023 is, thus, declared ultra vires and, therefore, invalid."
The Bench further directed the National Medical Commission (NMC) to reconsider the petitioner's migration request without relying on the impugned prohibition and to examine his case in light of disability rights and the need for reasonable accommodation.
"We direct the respondent – Commission to take decision afresh on the prayer made by the petitioner seeking his transfer from Government Medical College, Barmer, Rajasthan to University College of Medical Sciences, South Campus, South Moti Bagh, New Delhi, within a period of three weeks... The National Medical Commission is also directed to formulate a proper policy by way of making/amending the regulations permitting migration of a medical student from one medical institution to the other, of course, putting the requisite and desirable conditions for such transfers."
To view the order, click on the link below:
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