Delhi HC Bars Foreign Medical Graduates with Multi-College Degrees from FMGE
Delhi High Court bars foreign medical grads with multi-college degrees from FMGE. The court upheld degree authentication rules to stop fake qualifications. Read the article for more details.
The Delhi High Court has barred foreign medical graduates with multi-college degrees from appearing in the FMGE. FMGE stands for Foreign Medical Graduate Examination. This exam is the only gateway for Indian students who study medicine abroad to practice medicine in India. Without clearing this exam a foreign trained doctor cannot register with the National Medical Commission and cannot treat patients in India. The court delivered this decision while hearing a plea filed by an Indian citizen who had studied medicine outside India. These students wanted permission to appear in the FMGE. The court refused their request and dismissed the plea.
What the Court Decided
A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia heard the matter. The students challenged two rules. The first was regulation 4(1) of the screening test regulations 2002. This regulation requires a foreign medical qualification to be confirmed by the Indian Embassy as a qualification recognised in the country where the institution is located. The second was clause 2.14 of the FMGE Information Bulletin. This clause requires a foreign medical degree to be attested by the Indian Embassy or apostilled by the appropriate authority of the foreign country. The court upheld both rules. It found no good ground to interfere with them. The court said these rules are statutory in nature and follow the law.
Why The Court Said No
The court explained that authentication is a process of verifying a medical qualification. This step is necessary to stop candidates from relying on fake or false educational qualifications. If a candidate claims eligibility on the basis of a document then that document must be checked. This helps the exam conducting body to exclude students who seek to appear on the basis of false degrees. The court said requiring authentication does not cause any prejudice to a genuine candidate. It also rejected the challenge to regulation 4(1). The court said the decision to exclude foreign institutions not recognised by the Indian Embassy was based on relevant factors and expert opinion. Courts cannot interfere with such expert decisions unless they are absolutely necessary.This means students with degrees split across multiple colleges cannot appear in the FMGE. They must now follow the authentication rules before they can sit for the exam. The ruling sends a clear message that the quality of medical education will not be compromised for anyone.
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