JISHLAKSHI EMBRANDIRI Vs. MEDICAL COUNCILOF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioners in these Writ Petitions are aggrieved with the Respondents' insistence upon adherence with their Rule mandating that a student should have attained the age of seventeen years prior to embarking on medical studies. The Petitioners have attended and graduated from Medial Colleges recognized by the Medical Council of India (MCI for brevity) viz., they are bona fide regular students of institutions duly mentioned in Part II of IIIrd Schedule of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (IMC Act for short).

(2.) In exercise of the delegation of power to make Regulations by virtue of Section 33 of the IMC Act, the MCI has inter alia prescribed in Regulation 4 of Graduate Medical Education, 1997, notified on 4th March, 1997: 4. Admission to the Medical Course Eligibility Criteria : No Candidate shall be allowed to be admitted to the Medical Curriculum of first Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Course until:

(3.) I had the occasion to consider the various hues of this problem in Brijesh Ranjan Vs. MCI, 2004 I AD (DELHI) 465 = 108 (2003) DLT 752, in which I had inter alia observed that the stark reality is that in India, admission to Medical Colleges is available only to exceptionally and extraordinarily meritorious students as the competition is extremely keen. Even the obtainment of a First Division is usually not enough to secure admissions to Medical Colleges in India. This position does not obtain in Colleges abroad and so far as unrecognised teaching Colleges are concerned, their primary concern may be to increase their student enrollment. It is in the endeavour to maintain professional excellence and standards that the MCI has prescribed a minimum eligibility criteria of 50% for all students aspiring to become Doctors. As already mentioned, empirical scrutiny reveals that only those students who obtain in excess of 80% stand a possible chance of being selected for a career and a future in the medical profession. Human life has neither substitute nor parallel, and the resolve to ensure greatest proficiency in medical practice needs to be lauded and encouraged. It needs to be reiterated that it continues to be common knowledge that the medical profession remains one of the most popular, respected, remunerative and attractive career choices in India, and therefore entry to a Medical College is a much coveted achievement. Aspirants thereto outnumber the available seats by several scores. The students who have not succeeded in gaining admission to Medical Colleges within India look elsewhere on the Globe to pursue their studies. Given that there is a pressing need for more Medical Colleges in India, pursuing studies abroad should not invite a stigma or disadvantage, provided there is no degradation of academic standards. The erstwhile USSR was one of the countries where Indian students flock for admission in large numbers. The Indian Government had entered into an Understanding with the USSR which envisaged this educational participation. Mr. Maninder Singh, the learned Counsel for the MCI, has contended that after the political dismemberment of the USSR, some of the Medical Colleges have not cared to maintain educational standards, a factor that has greatly and continuously troubled the MCI. The degrees of Doctors who had graduated from such foreign Universities therefore, were not recognized, which led to large-scale litigation.