Resident doctors' duty hours under scrutiny: Health Ministry cites NMC's power to penalise medical colleges
New Delhi: The Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, recently informed the Lok Sabha that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) case was referred to the Ministry for submission of an action-taken report on a complaint dated March 17, 2025.
The Ministry said the matter was examined in consultation with the National Medical Commission (NMC), following which a report was submitted to the NHRC.
She further said that the report pointed out that, under Regulation 5.2(ii) of the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations (PGMER), 2023, "All post-graduate students will work as full-time resident doctors. They will work for reasonable working hours and will be provided reasonable time for rest in a day”.
Further, as per Regulation 9.1 of the PGMER, 2023, "For non- compliance or omission, the PGMEB will penalise the medical college/ institutions."
"PGMEB, NMC is empowered to take action against the concerned medical college/ institution, as specified under Regulation 9.2 of the PGMER, 2023," Patel said in the written reply.
The information was shared by the Minister in response to the queries raised by a Parliament member who sought to know whether the NHRC has sought a compliance report from the Ministry of Health regarding the issue of postgraduate resident doctors being made to work beyond the prescribed limits and the violation of the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 at R.G. Kar Medical College, Kolkata.
He also asked the details, along with the action taken so far against the concerned officials and the institution in the said matter and the details of the person held responsible for not submitting the compliance report on time, whether resident doctors in various medical colleges are being made to work up to 80-100 hours per week which is a violation of the prescribed norms across the country, if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise; and whether the Government is ensuring strict compliance with the safety and working-hour limits for resident doctors.
In response, the Minister stated, "Case No 441/90/0/2025 of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was referred to Ministry to submit the action taken report on a complaint dated 17.03.2025. Matter was examined in the Ministry in consultation with National Medical Commission (NMC) and submitted the report to NHRC, wherein it was informed as follows:
As per regulation 5.2 (ii) of the PGMER, 2023, "All post-graduate students will work as full time resident doctors. They will work for reasonable working hours and will be provided reasonable time for rest in a day”.
Further, as per Regulation 9.1 of the PGMER, 2023, "For non- compliance or omission, the PGMEB will penalize the medical college/ institutions.". PGMEB, NMC is empowered to take action against the concerned medical college/ institution, as per specified under Regulation 9.2 of the PGMER, 2023."
She further stated that the NMC Anti-Ragging Committee convened a meeting on 14.08.2024 to deliberate upon the incident and its wider implications for the safety, well-being, and working conditions of medical students and resident doctors across the country. As an immediate measure, NMC issued an Advisory dated 13.08.2024 to all Medical Colleges and Institutions.
"MoHFW/DGHS has issued directions to all Central Government Hospitals/Institutes, AIIMSs and all Medical Colleges to ensure filing of institutional FIR within maximum period of 6 hours of any incident of violence against doctors and other healthcare personnel vide OM dated 16.08.2024 and also issued advisories to States/UTs vide D.O. letters dated 23.08.2024 and 03.09.2024 to take immediate measures for enhancing security and providing safer working environment for medical professionals," she added.
Regarding the the violation of the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023 at R.G. Kar Medical College, Kolkata, the Minister said, "The incident at R.G. Kar Medical College, West Bengal was taken up by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in SMW (Crl) No. 2 of 2024, wherein the Hon'ble Court had constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to formulate recommendations for redressal of the issues regarding safety, well-being and working conditions of medical professionals. The Report of NTF had been submitted to the Hon'ble Court in November, 2024."
"Also, as "Public Health and Hospitals" is a state subject, the respective State Governments/UT Administrations prescribe norms for doctors' working hours, service conditions, duty rosters in the concerned institutions, taking into account local requirements and applicable service rules," Patel informed the parliament.
Duty hours matter in Supreme Court:
The Supreme Court recently postponed the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the 'inhuman' working hours of resident doctors and seeking the implementation of the residency scheme, noting that the Union government's counter affidavit, though filed months ago, was not available on record during the hearing.
The adjournment was granted after the Registry failed to place the Centre's counter-affidavit on record. A division bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale directed the Registry to trace the Centre's counter-affidavit and place it before the Court and listed the matter for September 17.
Medical Dialogues reported last year that the doctors under the United Doctors' Front (UDF) had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court against the "inhumane working hours of resident doctors". The association has challenged the "exploitative and unconstitutional working conditions imposed on resident doctors across the country".
The plea, filed through Advocates Mr Satyam Singh and Ms Neema AOR, sought urgent intervention from the Apex Court to enforce compliance with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's 1992 directive notification, which mandates that resident doctors should not work more than 12 hours per day and 48 hours per week.
The PIL highlighted that despite clear directives from the Supreme Court over three decades ago, medical institutions continue to violate prescribed standards. The petition cites the National Task Force report on Mental Health and Well-being of Medical Students, which documented over 150 suicides of medical students within five years, primarily due to work-related stress and sleep deprivation.
