Bhopal— In a significant interim relief, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has permitted eight foreign medical graduates to appear in the upcoming pre-PG medical examination, even though they have not completed the newly extended three-year internship requirement.
The doctors, who completed their MBBS from China and began their internships in Madhya Pradesh under the earlier two-year mandate, challenged the sudden extension of the internship to three years. They argued that changing the rules mid-course was arbitrary and violated the principle of legal certainty.
Internship Duration Increased Midway
The petitioners—including Dr. Saurabh Rafguvanshi (Vidisha) and Dr. Jai Sharma (Ujjain)—enrolled in MBBS programs in China in 2017. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, they returned to India in 2019 and completed the remainder of their education online.
Initially, students with foreign MBBS degrees were required to undergo a one-year internship for medical registration in Madhya Pradesh. During the pandemic, this was extended to two years, and subsequently, in November 2024, the duration was further extended to three years, affecting students like the petitioners whose internships were set to end by March 31, 2025.
Legal Challenge to Blanket Implementation
Appearing for the doctors, senior counsel Aditya Sanghi argued that the National Medical Commission (NMC) extended internships for students from Ukraine and the Philippines due to war-related disruptions, but the MP Medical Council applied the rule uniformly to all foreign graduates, regardless of their country of study.
Sanghi contended that this blanket extension lacked justification and disproportionately impacted students who had already planned their academic timelines.
Pre-PG Exam Deadline Nears
With the pre-PG exam scheduled for June-July 2025 and the application deadline set for June 7, the petitioners approached the court urgently, asserting they would be barred from appearing without judicial intervention.
Court Grants Interim Relief
A division bench of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vinay Saraf, while issuing notices to the MP Medical Council and other respondents, directed the authorities to allow the eight doctors to appear in the pre-PG exam pending the outcome of the case.
The final decision on the legitimacy of the extended internship requirement remains pending. However, the court’s interim relief marks a crucial victory for students navigating evolving regulatory frameworks in India’s post-pandemic medical education landscape.
