1. Admission dispute regarding postgraduate medical degree course — Request for examination permission based on partial study and diploma completion. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 )
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2000 Supreme(SC) 338
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
A.S.Anand, CJI., Doraiswamy Raju : S.R.Babu, JJ.
Director, Medical Education, Lucknow
Versus
Swapnil Chauhan
Case No. : 1684 of 1997
Date of Decision : 2/10/00
The minimum training period of three calendar years for M.D./M.S. degrees is mandatory, and no credit or exemption can be granted for previous diploma studies or other experience.
Headnote:(A) Medical Council Regulations - Period of Training - Minimum period of training for award of postgraduate degrees (M.D./M.S.) from 1993 onwards is three calendar years - No exemption shall be given from this period of training either for doing housemanship or for any other experience or diploma (Paras 4 and 5).
(B) Admission to Postgraduate Course - Direction by High Court to admit a candidate to a degree course long after the session had commenced is unsustainable if it contradicts established legal precedents (Para 6).
Facts of the case:
The respondent, after qualifying for a postgraduate entrance examination, was allotted a seat in a diploma course. A vacancy arose in a degree course due to a resignation, and the respondent sought admission to the same. The High Court directed the appellants to admit the respondent to the degree course for a session that had already commenced. The respondent subsequently requested permission to appear in the degree examination, arguing that the diploma and degree courses were largely identical and that the diploma study should be credited toward the degree.
Findings of Court:
The respondent did not complete the mandatory three calendar years of training required for the award of a postgraduate degree. The regulations explicitly prohibit giving credit for diploma study toward the completion of a degree course.
Issues: Whether the respondent could be permitted to appear in the degree examination based on the study of a diploma course and whether the High Court's direction for late admission was valid.
Ratio Decidendi: Three calendar years of minimum training is an essential requisite for the award of a postgraduate degree of M.D./M.S., and no credit can be given for the period of study for a diploma toward obtaining such a degree.
Result: Appeal allowed.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Table of Contents
2. Whether similarity between diploma and degree courses permits a candidate to appear in degree examinations without completing the mandatory training period. (Para 4 )
3. Medical Council of India regulations mandate a three-calendar-year training period for postgraduate degrees, with no exemptions for prior diploma study or experience. (Para 4 )
4. The prescribed minimum training period for postgraduate medical degrees is an essential requisite and cannot be credited through study in diploma courses. (Para 5 )
5. Appeal allowed — High Court direction for admission to the postgraduate degree course set aside. (Para 6 )
6. Can a candidate receive credit for a diploma course toward the mandatory training period for an MD/MS degree?
No, the Medical Council of India stipulates that the minimum training period for MD/MS degrees is three calendar years, and no exemption is provided for having completed a diploma or other experience. (Para 4 , 5 )
7. Is the three-year training period for postgraduate medical degrees mandatory for the award of the degree?
Yes, the three-calendar-year minimum training is an essential requisite for the award of a postgraduate degree of MD/MS. (Para 5 )
(1) RESPONDENT after qualifying in the P.G.M.E.E. in 1994 was allotted a seat in the Diploma Course in Gynaecology and Obstetrics [hereinafter Diploma G & O)] in Motilal Nehru Medical College, Allahabad which she joined in May, 1994. She had also sought admission for M.S. (Gynaecology and Obstetrics) [hereinafter M.S. (G & O)] at the time of applying for admission. It appears that a seat in M.S. (G & O) fell vacant because of the resignation of one of the candidates on 1st February, 1995. The respondent claimed admission to the M.S. (G & O) against that vacancy. That request having been declined, she filed a writ petition. The writ petition was allowed and the appellants were directed to admit the respondent in M.S. (G & O) course in the session 1994-97 for the vacancy caused by the resignation of Dr. Anupam Bansal within two weeks. This direction was made by the High Court on 11/9/1996, admittedly, much after the course in M.S. (G & O) for session 1994-97 had commenced. The appellants approached this Court and submitted that the direction given by the High Court on 11th September, 1996 to admit the respondent in M.S. (G & O) course for the session 1994-97 runs in the teeth of the judgment given by this Court in State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. v. Dr. Anupam Gupta & Ors.[JT 1992 (4) SC 422] = [1993 Supp. (1) SCC 594], and could not be sustained. In the special leave petition, on 22/3/1996, following order was made:
"ISSUE notice. The notice shall state that the matter would appear to be covered by the judgment of this Court in State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors. v. Dr. Anupam Gupta etc. reported in [JT 1992 (4) SC 422 = AIR 1992 SC 932] and the Special Leave Petition might be disposed of accordingly"
(2) SUBSEQUENTLY, since the respondent had been granted time repeatedly to file the counter affidavit and had not filed it. Leave was granted and the interim stay earlier granted was continued.
(3) LEARNED counsel for the respondent filed, in this Court, an application, being I.A. No. 2/97 complaining that though the respondent had studied for Diploma (G & O), she was not being permitted to appear even in the examination for Diploma (G & O). That application was allowed and by an order of this Court dated 4/4/1997, it was directed that the respondent be allowed to appear in the Diploma (G & O) examination to be held in March/April, 1997, provided she satisfies all other requirements for the purpose. It is conceded before us that respondent has since appeared in the Diploma (G & O) examination and been declared successful.
(4) ACCORDING to learned counsel for the respondent since the study course of Diploma (G & O) and M.S. (G & O) is to a great extent identical and she was already preparing her thesis, she should be permitted to appear in the examination for M.S. (G & O) as she had got admission in M.S. (G & O) course pursuant to the directions of the High Court with effect from 29/3/1996 and had also pursued the diploma course. The argument is misconceived. The respondent continued to study in M.S. course only till 4/1/1997 whereafter because of the stay order granted by this Court, she was not permitted to pursue that course. She has, therefore, not even put in one year course of study in M.S. According to the Medical Council of India the minimum period of training for the award of M.D./M.S. courses from the year 1993 onwards is three calendar years. The relevant provision reads:
"PERIOD OF TRAINING The prescribed minimum period of training for award of various postgraduate decree/diploma shall be as follows : 1. MD/MS, from the year 1993 onwards the minimum period of training for obtaining these decrees shall be three calendar years and the candidates can be admitted to this training after their registration with the Medical Council of India. 2. No exemption shall be given from this period of training of three years either for doing housemanship or for any other experience or diploma."
(5) THE abo
