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Foreign medical graduates: Supreme Court issues notice in plea of such graduates willing to serve in Covid-hit India

The plea has been filed as a one-time measure, to allow foreign medical graduates to do internships before they clear mandatory “Screening Test” for registration and practice as doctors in India.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on a plea filed by three associations of foreign medical graduates seeking a direction mandating their induction into the healthcare workforce to augment the ailing healthcare system.

The bench comprising Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice Aniruddha Bose issued notice but also remarked, “We are not sure if we can grant relief to those who haven’t cleared exam. The other categories where they’ve cleared we can issue notice.”

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for the petitioners and submitted that there are several categories of foreign medical graduates: those who’ve cleared exams, done internship but aren’t getting registered; those who’ve cleared exam but not able to do internship; and those who haven’t given exam, but are willing to serve.

The plea has been filed as a one-time measure, to allow foreign medical graduates to do internships before they clear mandatory “Screening Test” for registration and practice as doctors in India. The petitioner is requesting this concession looking at the present Covid-19 pandemic and the current tsunami of the second wave.

“The doctor-population ratio in India is 1:1456 against the WHO recommendation of 1:1000 and in the ongoing mayhem of the second wave; India is desperately short of doctors and support staff. In this backdrop to overcome the shortage of doctors and support staff, the Respondent no. 1 and 2 vide their letters [both] dated May 3, 2021 have suggested utilising final year MBBS students for Covid duties. The petitioner vide the present petition want to propose the inclusion of foreign medical graduates who are qualified doctors, to be utilised as Covid Warriors in the government and private hospitals, nursing homes, make shift hospitals built to accommodate the surge in Covid patients etc,” the plea highlights.

The plea also states, “Every year around 15,000 to 20,000 foreign medical graduate students appear in the Screening Test, these are doctors eligible to practice medicine in the country they have graduated from. In India, there is a bar under the Screening Test Regulations 2002 [Regulation 11] that unless and until foreign medical graduates clears Screening Test they are not eligible to register themselves as doctors in India. The Petitioner is seeking one-time exemption to Regulation 11 to cater the need of the nation crying for help.”

The plea has raised the following question of law for the relief it has sought:-

1. Whether Regulation 11 of the Screening Test Regulation, 2002 is arbitrary and discriminatory?

Also read: Delhi High Court allows withdrawal of petition seeking regulation of doctors duty hours

2. Whether Regulation 11 of the Screening Test Regulation, 2002 discriminates foreign medical graduates against Indian medical graduates and puts foreign medical graduates to disadvantageous position?

3. Whether during the present Covid-19 pandemic and medical emergency, the Regulation 11 of the Screening Test Regulation, 2002 should be set aside to make way for 15,000 to 20,000 foreign medical graduates [doctors] in India?

4. If the Regulation cannot be set-aside, can there be a onetime exemption?

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