SHIVAJI DNYANDEO PATIL Vs. MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule, by consent returnable forthwith. With the consent of Counsel and at their request the Petition is taken up for hearing and final disposal.

(2.) The two Petitioners seek a direction to the First Respondent, the Medical Council of India (MCI), to issue a provisional certificate of registration under Section 25 (1) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. The second relief sought is a direction to the Respondents the MCI, National Board of Examination and the Union of India in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare "to preclude themselves from making any discrimination" against the Petitioners in granting a provisional certificate of registration. The second relief is essentially consequential to the first.

(3.) The Petitioners completed their HSC in February 2003. In October 2003, they secured admission to a course called the Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine (B.S.M.D.) with the Fourth Respondent. The Fourth Respondent is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and is called Transworld Education Academy Pvt. Ltd. The Petitioners states that the B.S.M.D. Course comprises of a total duration of 5 years comprising of 4 years for academic studies and one year for internship. The Petitioners completed their initial two academic years in India in October 2007 from a college of the Fourth Respondent and thereafter proceeded to the Angeles University Foundation in Philippines to complete the remaining two academic years with what the Petitioners describe as a counter part of the Fourth Respondent situated in Philippines. The Petitioners state that they completed their graduation on 1 June 2009 and that graduation certificates have been issued to them by the Angeles University Foundation in Philippines. On 17 September 2009, the Fourth Respondent issued an eligibility certificate to the First Petitioner stating that he could appear for a screening test conducted by the Second Respondent for determining eligibility for grant of registration in India to pursue a career as a Doctor. A similar certificate of eligibility was issued to the Second Petitioner on 29 June 2005.