Supreme Court relief to senior FMGs, orders AMU to release internship stipend
Supreme Court of India
New Delhi: Directing Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to release the pending stipend to senior foreign medical graduates (FMGs) from the 2023-2024 batch within three weeks, the Supreme Court observed 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.
The top court, led by a division bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Prasanna B Varale, noted that the senior FMGs would stand on the same footing as the juniors and cannot be treated differently from Indian medical graduates (IMGs) when it comes to internship stipend. It clarified that paying them less or not paying at all amounts to discrimination.
The relief was granted to a group of FMGs who completed their Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI) at AMU between June 2023 and June 2024 and had approached the court seeking release of their pending stipend in parity with Indian medical graduates.
In their plea, the petitioners stated that they were not receiving any stipend, while Indian medical graduates at the same institution were being paid Rs 26,300 per month. They also referred to the Supreme Court’s previous judgment under which their junior batch was paid a stipend.
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.
The plea before the Supreme Court was filed by 11 medical graduates from abroad who completed their primary medical education from foreign medical institutes and qualified as FMGs. Consequently, they underwent an internship at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh- a constituent college of AMU.
However, in the latest plea as reported by Indian Express, the petitioners were Indian citizens who pursued their medical education abroad, in countries including Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Russia and China. After clearing mandatory screening requirements, they completed their compulsory internship in India at JN Medical College of AMU during the period June 2023 to June 2024.
The petitioners, in the plea, said they are not receiving any stipend in their institution, while Indian Medical Graduates (IMGs) are being paid a stipend of Rs 26,300 per month.
Aggrieved by non-payment of stipend, they approached the apex court seeking a writ of mandamus directing the authorities to pay stipend for the entire internship period at par with IMGs. The petition was argued by Advocate Charu Mathur, who pointed out that a junior batch had already received stipend following the Supreme Court’s July 15, 2025, order in Writ Petition No. 232/2025.
During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the respondent authorities submitted that while they were not disputing the entitlement of FMGs, they were apprehensive that disbursing stipends without explicit UGC approval could invite objections or adverse action.
The Supreme Court rejected this concern, noting that an identical issue had already been addressed in the earlier case. The Bench insulated medical colleges from any adverse action by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for disbursing stipends without prior approval, removing what it described as the primary stumbling block cited by the authorities.
To put the issue beyond doubt, the court reiterated its earlier protection in unequivocal terms, stating that stipend payment made pursuant to judicial directions would not expose colleges to regulatory consequences. The bench said this clarification was necessary to allay the apprehension of respondent colleges and to fully insulate them from any adverse orders, remarks or penalties.
Recording that AMU and JN Medical College were not denying the legitimacy of the claim, the bench observed that this left little scope for prolonged adjudication.
"The respondent Nos. 1 (AMU) and 2 (JN Medical College) are not seriously disputing the entitlement of the petitioners receiving the stipend or denying their claim," the court noted.
Referring extensively to its earlier judgment, the court reiterated that stipend payment during internship is a matter of right and procedural objections cannot be used to deny that entitlement and directed that no adverse action shall be taken by the UGC on the ground that stipend has been paid without prior permission.
Applying the same reasoning to the present case, the bench noted that the petitioners in this case completed their internship before the petitioner-beneficiaries of the July 15, 2025, order. Hence, there is no legal justification to deny or reduce the stipend for seniors after stipend parity has been granted to junior interns.
"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," the court said.
Dismissing the petition, the Supreme Court directed the respondents to pay the difference in stipend expeditiously, at any rate within three weeks.
Also read- Non-Payment of Stipend to MBBS Interns- Supreme Court to Hear Plea in July
