The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the National Medical Commission (NMC) and a Bhopal-based medical college over a petition alleging denial of stipend to foreign medical graduates (FMGs) during their compulsory internship in India.
A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran was hearing a plea filed by MBBS graduate Akash Udayakumar and others, represented by advocate Tanvi Dubey. The petition claims that students undergoing internship at Mahaveer Institute of Medical Sciences in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal are being denied stipends, despite working the same hours as their Indian counterparts.
Calling the denial of stipend a “sheer violation” of the petitioners’ fundamental rights, the plea highlighted that FMGs, like Indian medical graduates, are mandated to undergo a one-year internship in India before being allowed to practice.
“These students return to their home country, India, burdened with educational loans and additional living expenses. The refusal to pay a basic stipend for compulsory medical service is not only arbitrary but also unjust,” Dubey submitted before the court.
The petition argued that the discrimination in stipend payment is deeply demotivating, especially for students interning far from their home states. “They are victims of circumstances and should not be penalised for fulfilling their professional obligations,” it added.
The apex court has directed the medical college and the NMC to respond, and has listed the matter for further hearing in July.
