1 srk wp-1588-10.sxw IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 1588 OF 2010 Reena Sachin Patil ... Petitioner Versus The Medical Council of India ... Respondent Mr. V.M. Thorat for the petitioner. Mr. Ganesh Gole for respondent No.1. CORAM : MOHIT S. SHAH, C.J. & S.J. VAZIFDAR, J. Tuesday, February 08, 2011 P .C. Rule. By consent, rule returnable forthwith. 2. Mr. Ganesh Gole, learned advocate waives service for respondent No.1. 3. In this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the communication dated 13th February, 2010 of the Medical Council of India, requiring the petitioner to produce/submit `A' Level Biology certificate (if any), so as to enable the Council to take further necessary action in the matter of provisional registration under section 25(1) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (Exhibit `F' at page 34 of the petition). 2 srk wp-1588-10.sxw 4. The petitioner's case is that since the petitioner secured admission to the Odessa State Medical University, Ukraine in June, 1995 and she passed the six years medicine course from that University on 20th June, 2002 including one year internship, the petitioner is not required to produce certificate of eligibility for admission to the said foreign medical university. 5. At the first hearing, the learned counsel for the petitioner had invited our attention to Regulation 4(2) of the Screening Test Regulations (Exhibit `B' at page 22) which provides that the requirements of obtaining eligibility certificate from the Medical Council of India as per the `Eligibility Requirement for taking admission in the undergraduate medical course in a Foreign Medical Institution Regulations, 2002', shall not be necessary in respect of Indian citizens who have acquired the medical qualifications from foreign medical institutions or have obtained admission in foreign medical institution before 15th March, 2002. 6. We had specifically mentioned in our order dated 22nd July, 2010 that according to the petitioner, the petitioner had obtained admission in the above foreign medical institutions in the year 1995 and acquired medical qualifications on 28th June, 2002. We, therefore, specifically noted the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner having obtained admission in the foreign medical institution before 15th March, 2002, the respondent-Medical Council of India is not justified in insisting that the petitioner must produce 'A' level Biology certificate whereas the petitioner had passed the Biology examination at `O' level. While a detailed affidavit in reply has been filed on behalf of the Deputy Secretary, Medical Council of India, the petitioner's assertion that the petitioner had obtained admission in the above foreign medical institution at Ukraine before 15th May, 2002, is not disputed. 3 srk wp-1588-10.sxw The submissions contained in the reply affidavit on behalf of the Medical Council of India deal with the question of eligibility in respect of the students who obtained admission in the foreign medical institution on/or after 15th March, 2002. 7. Regulation 4 of the Screening Test Regulation made by the Medical Council of India, under section 33 reads as under: 4. Eligibility Criteria : No person shall be allowed to appear in the screening test unless: 1. he/she is a citizen of India and possesses any primary medical qualification, either whose name and the institution awarding it are included in the World Directory of Medical Schools, published by the World Health Organization; or which is confirmed by the Indian Embassy concerned to be a recognized qualification for enrolment as medical practitioner in the country in which the institution awarding the said qualification is situated; 2. he/she obtained `Eligibility Certificate' from the Medical Council of India as per the `Eligibility Requirement for taking admission in an undergraduate medical course in a Foreign Medical Institution Regulations, 2002'. This requirement shall not be necessary in respect of Indian citizens who have acquired the medical qualifications from foreign medical institutions or have obtained admission in foreign medical institution before 15th March, 2002. 8. The Apex Court also had an occasion to consider this issue in Medical Council of India v. Indian Doctors From Russia Welfare Associations and others, (2002) 3 SCC 696 and the Apex Court noted interalia the following guidelines issued by the Government of India: 4 srk wp-1588-10.sxw (B) All students who have taken admission abroad prior to 15.3.2002 and are required to qualify the screening test for their registration as per the provisions of the Screening Test Regulations, 2002 shall be allowed to appear in the screening test even if they also come in the categories of circumstances contained in (A)(ii) above, as the relaxation contained therein would also be applicable in their case. In other words, any person at present undergoing medical education abroad, who did not conform to the minimum eligibility requirements for joining an undergraduate medical course in India laid down by MCI, seeking provisional or permanent registration on or after 15.3.2002 shall be permitted to appear in the screening test in relaxation of this requirement provided he had taken admission in an institute recognized by MCI. This relaxation shall be available to only those students who had taken admission abroad prior to 15.2.2002. From 15.3.2002 and onwards all students are required to first obtain an Eligibility Certificate from MCI before proceeding abroad for studies in Medicine." 9. Upon perusal of the aforesaid Regulation 4 of the Screening Test Regulations and the above-quoted guidelines issued by the Government of India in para 6 of the decision in Medical Council of India v. Indian Doctors From Russia Welfare Associations (supra), there can be no manner of doubt that the eligibility criteria referred to in Regulation 4 and also elaborated in the Medical Council of India Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 (at Annexure R4 are not applicable to the students who took admission abroad in a foreign medical university falling in Schedule 3 of the Medical Council of India Act prior to 15th March, 2002. 10. In view of the uncontroverted fact that the petitioner took admission in June 1995 to Odessa State Medical University, Ukraine which is also included in Schedule 3 of the Indian Medical Council Act as asserted by 5 srk wp-1588-10.sxw the petitioner and not controverted by the respondent (which led to the petitioner obtaining the medical degree in June, 2002), the insistence by the respondent that the petitioner must submit eligibility certificate cannot be sustained. The impugned communication is, therefore, quashed and set aside and the respondent-Council is required to be directed to consider petitioner's case for provisional registration under section 33 of the Act without requiring the petitioner to produce any eligibility certificate for admission to the foreign medical institution. It is directed accordingly. 11. It is clarified that since we are holding that petitioner had secured admission to the foreign recognized university prior to 15th March, 2002, it is not necessary for us to decide the controversy whether passing of biology examination at `O' level can or cannot be considered as sufficient for the purpose of meeting the eligibility criteria laid down by the Medical Council of India. Rule made absolute to the above extent. Writ petition stands disposed of accordingly. CHIEF JUSTICE S.J. VAZIFDAR, J.