Ernakulam: Interim Relief for Foreign Medical Graduates

Providing interim relief to a group of foreign medical graduates, the Kerala High Court recently directed the concerned authorities, including the General Hospital Kottayam, to allow the medicos to continue their internship without insisting on payment of internship fees.

Further, the High Court clarified that after completing the internship, the FMGs will get a completion certificate only after submitting a simple bond undertaking to pay the internship fee depending on the result of the petition.

The HC bench comprising Justice V G Arun was considering a plea moved by 17 foreign medical graduates alleging charging of an exorbitant amount of internship fees, and non-payment of internship stipend by General Hospital, Kottayam.

The petitioner students are currently undergoing their internship as house surgeons with the General Hospital in Kottayam. Referring to the National Medical Commission's circulars dated March 4, 2022, and May 19, 2022, the petitioners submitted that the General Hospital refused to comply with the NMC directive for not charging the FMGs any internship fees and paying them a stipend.

Also Read: NMC Relief: Equal Stipend, no extra fee for FMGs for Pursuing Internship in India

Earlier this year, it was reported that providing major relief to the Foreign Medical Graduates who want to pursue an internship in India, NMC had clarified that the Indian medical colleges shall not charge any fees from the medical graduates from abroad for permitting them to do an internship in India.

In fact, the apex medical regulator had further made it clear that the FMGs would be paid equal stipend and other facilities just like the Indian Medical Graduates who are being trained at Government Medical Colleges.

The reason for such relief on NMC's part was the fact that the medical graduates from abroad were facing hardship in getting themselves registered in some of the State medical Councils after the publication of Foreign Medical Graduates Licentiate Regulations, 2021, and Compulsory Rotatory Medical Internship Regulations, 2021 by the National Medical Commission.

As per the latest media report by Live Law, the plea stated, "The petitioners were being threatened with discontinuation of their course and withholding of their course completion certificate by the 4th and 5th respondents in the event of nonpayment of internship fee."

Filing the plea, the FMGs prayed for directions upon authorities including Kerala Government, Kerala DME, the Superintendent of Kottayam General Hospital, and Kochin Medical Council to allow them to pursue their internship without insisting on the payment of fees. Besides, they also demanded a stipend during the internship period and an internship completion certificate after completing the program.

Issuing notice to the concerned authorities including the National Medical Commission (NMC), the HC bench mentioned in the order dated October 14, 2022, "In the light of the orders passed in a similar case, there shall be an interim order directing respondents 1 to 5 to permit the petitioners to continue their internship without insisting on payment of internship fee. On completion of internship, the petitioners shall be issued a completion certificate on their furnishing simple bond undertaking to pay the internship fee in case of any adverse orders being passed in this writ petition."

Click on the link below to view the order:

Also Read: Take Strict Action on Medical Colleges charging MBBS Internship fee, not paying stipend to FMGs: NMC orders State Counterparts