Supreme Court orders stipend to FMGs on par with Indian MBBS graduates
Supreme Court of India
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has ordered the Jharkhand government and Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, to pay the pending stipend to Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) who had completed their internship earlier but were not given the same benefit as their juniors.
Noting that foreign medical graduates are liable to get a stipend at par with Indian medical graduates, the division bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Prasanna B. Varale ordered the stipend to be paid within 2 weeks.
The bench said, "The petitioners having completed their internship prior to the petitioners in WP No.232/2025, would stand on the same footing as that of writ petitioners in WP No.232/2025. As such, they cannot be discriminated and paid less stipend than the writ petitioners in WP No.232/2025 having been paid."
The order was passed by the apex court while hearing a petition filed by several FMGs. These doctors are Indian citizens who completed their medical education in countries such as Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Russia and China. They underwent their internship at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Jharkhand, between June 2023 and June 2024.
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The petitioners informed the Court that although the Supreme Court had earlier ordered payment of a stipend to junior FMGs in a separate case (WP No. 232/2025), they were not given the same amount. They sought directions to ensure that they receive a stipend at par with Indian Medical Graduates and their juniors.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported on July 15, 2025, that the Supreme Court directed the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to give internship stipend arrears to 11 Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) within 2 weeks. The court issued directions to the AMU to disburse the stipend of Rs 26,300 per month to the petitioners within two weeks to ensure that the FMGs get the same amount of stipend, which is already being paid to the Indian Medical Graduates.
Following this, the senior foreign medical graduates (FMGs) from the 2023-2024 batch from AMU also approached the Supreme Court to release the pending stipend within three weeks, observing that if junior FMGs have already been granted a stipend in its previous judgment, then seniors who completed their internship earlier are also entitled to the same benefit.
In the present case, the respondent authorities expressed concern that the stipend could not be disbursed without explicit permission from the UGC. However, the Court noted that this issue had already been addressed in the earlier order. It reiterated that no adverse action would be taken by the UGC if the stipend is paid as per the Court’s direction.
The bench observed that since the present petitioners had completed their internship before the juniors who were already granted stipend, they stand on the same footing and cannot be treated differently.
Taking note that the respondents were not seriously disputing the entitlement of the petitioners, the Court disposed of the petition and directed the authorities to pay the difference in stipend within three weeks.
To view the official court order, click on the link below:
