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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
PRATEEK JALAN, J.
S.H. Arman Sindhu – Petitioner
Versus
Union of India and Others – Respondents
W.P. (C) No. 8429 of 2021, C.M. Application No. 26090 of 2021
Decided On : 18-08-2021
Constitution of India, 1950 - Article 226, 14 - Internship - Seeks a direction upon the respondents to extend the date of completion of internship - Grievance with which he has approached Court is the respondents have fixed as last date for completion of compulsory one-year rotational - Internship to enable a candidate to participate in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Post Graduate) [examination to be held on petitioner will complete his internship only on, and therefore seeks a direction upon respondents to extend date of completion of internship from - According to him, schedule laid down by respondents is entirely consistent with completion of internship by or even later - He submits that such a modification would not disturb proposed schedule, and would enure to benefit of several candidates whose internship will not be completed, but soon after - In support of court contention, drew my attention Medical Council of India Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, wherein schedule for completion of admission process for post graduate medical courses has been laid down.
Finding of the Court:
According to extension of eligibility date for completion of internship from - Court context, Mr. Sharawat reminded Court of plentitude of its powers under Article 226 of Constitution - However, there are well developed limitations within which the writ court exercises its discretionary jurisdiction - Although Mr. Sharawat is right in saying that judgment in was rendered in context of regulatory regime and not COVID-19 induced extensions, observations of - Court were to accede to petitioner’s contentions, grievances of those whose internships will be completed soon after - He submitted that present case, in fact, reveals such arbitrariness in the fixation of cut-off date as would justify interference of writ court, even in terms of judgments cited by respondents - According to Mr. Sharawat, extension of eligibility date for completion of internship from.
Result: Application Dismissed.
JUDGMENT :
PRATEEK JALAN, J.
1. The petitioner is a doctor. He has completed the MBBS course from Rohilkhand Medical College, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh and wishes to pursue a post graduate degree. The grievance with which he has approached the Court is that the respondents have fixed 30.09.2021 as the last date for completion of the compulsory one-year rotational internship to enable a candidate to participate in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Post Graduate) [hereinafter “NEETPG”] examination to be held on 11.09.2021. The petitioner will complete his internship only on 25.10.2021 and therefore seeks a direction upon the respondents to extend the date of completion of internship from 30.09.2021 to 31.10.2021.
2. Mr. Sanjay Sharawat, learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted that this year, due to circumstances arising out of the Corona-Virus pandemic, the NEET-PG examination, which is normally held in the month of January, has been postponed to 11.09.2021. According to him, the schedule laid down by the respondents is entirely consistent with completion of the internship by 31.10.2021 or even later. He submits that such a modification would not disturb the proposed schedule, and would enure to the benefit of several candidates whose internship will not be completed by 30.09.2021, but soon after.
3. In support of this contention, Mr. Sharawat drew my attention to the Medical Council of India Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000 [hereinafter “PGMER”] wherein the schedule for completion of the admission process for post graduate medical courses has been laid down. This schedule provides that the entrance examination be conducted by 10th January and result be declared by the end of January. Counselling is to be conducted in three rounds between 12th March and 8th May, with 31st May being the last date of joining. In conjunction with this schedule, Mr. Sharawat submitted that the last date for completion of internship for the purposes of eligibility for writing the NEET-PG examination is fixed as 31.03.2021.
4. In the wake of the Corona-Virus pandemic, by a notification dated 07.04.2020, the Medical Council of India, now the National Medical Commission [respondent no. 2 herein] [hereinafter “NMC”], extended the last date for completion of internship to 30.04.2021.
5. By a notice dated 23.02.2021, the National Board of Examinations [hereinafter “NBE”] [respondent no 3 herein] fixed the NEET-PG examination for 18.04.2021 and the results were to be declared on 31.05.2021. At this time, the NBE also issued an examination information bulletin, in which it was provided that the last date for completion of internship was extended to 30.06.2021.
6. Due to the intervening outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the examination was not held on 18.04.2021. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India issued a letter dated 03.05.2021 to the State Governments stating that the NEET-PG examination was being postponed and would not be held prior to 31.08.2021. The aforesaid letter also called upon the States to utilize prospective NEET-PG candidates in the COVID-19 workforce. According to the petitioner, he has also been serving in COVID-19 related duties since April, 2021.
7. The NEET-PG examination has now been scheduled for 11.09.2021 by a notice dated 13.07.2021 issued by the NBE. By a further notice dated 06.08.2021, the NBE has decided to open a second phase for registration of candidates between 16.08.2021 to 20.08.2021, and to extend the cut-off date for completion of internship to 30.09.2021.
8. It is in these circumstances that the petitioner has filed this writ petition for the following reliefs:-
(b) Consequently issue a writ of mandamus and direct the Respondents t
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