Dr. Rajesh Kumar And Ors. vs Medical Council Of India
2004 Latest Caselaw 650 Del

ORDER

Sanjay Kishan Kaul, J.

WP(C) 4937 of 2003:

1. Rule.

Learned Counsel for the respondent accepts notice of rule.

2. The matter is taken up for final disposal at this stage with the consent of learned Counsels for the parties.

3. The petitioners are medical students who completed MBBS course of 5 1/2 years from recognised institute in Taskent, USSR in 1998. The petitioners were granted provisional registration by the State Medical Council of Jammu and Kashmir and completed the internship period of 12 months under the same.

4. The controversy arose on account of the fact that similarly placed other students had applied to Medical Council of India, the respondents herein, who were not given provisional registration, on the ground that they had completed MBBS course only in 5 1/2 years whereas the requirement was to spend 6 years in the medical course.

5. The matter in controversy went up to the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 2779/2000 decided on 8.3.2002. The Supreme Court granted relaxation to such candidates to the extent that these persons should not be treated as ineligible but that the balance period of medical course should be deemed to have been completed on their completion, an additional period of internship of 6 months to be added to the internship of 1 year. The requirement, thus, was of 18 months of internship.

6. The respondents are stated to have acted in pursuance to the said judgment on 16.4.2002 and granted provisional registration certificate of 18 months.

7. The limited dispute which has arisen in the present petition is as to whether the petitioners are required to complete the internship of 18 months starting from 16th April, 2002 or whether the internship done earlier of one year is to be counted towards 18 months period and only balance 6 months' period of internship has to be completed.

8. In this behalf, attention of this Court has been invited to a judgment of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in CA (LPA) No. 38/2003 titled 'Dr. Jaspreet Singh v. Dr. A.R.N. Setalvad, Secretary, Medical Council of India' decided on 8.3.2004 where it has been held that the period spent of one year earlier in the internship should be counted towards 18 months period and there appeared to be no justification to refuse the permanent registration certificate to the petitioners accordingly.

9. I am inclined to follow the same course of action, especially in view of the fact that these are the petitioners who had completed earlier the period of one years intership in pursuance to the interim orders of the Court and are covered by judgment of the Supreme Court passed on 8.3.2002. Thus, the balance period of 6 months is required to be completed so as to complete the total period of 18 months period of intership in pursuance to the orders of this Court.

A writ of mandamus is, thus, issued directing the respondent, Medical Council of India, to take a decision for grant of registration to the petitioner in terms aforesaid within a maximum period of one month from today.

The writ petition is allowed in the aforesaid terms leaving the parties to bear their own costs

CM 14231/2003:

No further orders are called for in this application in view of disposal of the writ petition.

Application stands disposed of.