The National Medical Commission's authority to enforce a two-year internship for Foreign Medical Graduates with online class attendance is justified under the regulations to ensure public health and safety.

JUDGMENT :

N.NAGARESH, J.

The petitioners are Foreign Medical Graduates, who completed their medical education at Bukovinian State Medical University, Ukraine during 2016- 2020. The petitioners passed National Medical Commission screening test.

2. The 1^st petitioner completed one year Compulsory Rotational Medical Internship (CRMI) and petitioners 2 to 24 are undergoing their internships. Due to Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine War, the National Medical Commission required the Foreign Medical Graduates, who attended online classes, to complete a two year CRMI. The National Medical Commission later reduced the internship period to one year for those students who have sufficiently compensated classes in physical onsite in lieu of the online classes and subsequently passed examination equivalent to MBBS in India.

3. The petitioners state that they attended physical classes throughout their course and did not face significant academic challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic or the Ukraine War. The petitioners completed theoretical and practical training through offline mode. 4. The petitioners state that other batchmates of the petitioners had already completed their internship. However, when the petitioners approached the 3^rd respondent-Kerala State Medical Council, the 3^rd respondent did not respond positively. The petitioners therefore seek to direct the 3^rd respondent to reduce the duration of CRMI for the petitioners to one year.

5. The 3^rd respondent resisted the writ petition. The 3^rd respondent stated that during the course period of the petitioners (2016-2022), their physical classes were interrupted due to Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine War. After passing the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination, the petitioners applied for provisional registration with the Council. The 2^nd respondent-National Medical Commission issued Annexure-R3(a) notice insisting for two years internship for Foreign Medical Graduates, who had to undergo online classes during their course study due to Covid-19/Ukraine War.

6. During the course period of the petitioners, physical mode of classes were interrupted. Therefore, they are bound to undergo two year CRMI. The 3^rd respondent- Council therefore issued certificates of provisional registration to petitioners 1 to 19 prescribing two year internship as per Annexure-R3(b).

7. The 3^rd respondent further stated that petitioners 20 to 27 were initially granted one year clinical clerkship. After completing the clerkship, they will be issued with provisional registration for doing one year CRMI. Petitioners 21, 22 and 24 completed their one year clinical clerkship and were given provisional registration for one year CRMI.

8. The National Medical Commission, considering the representations made by certain Foreign Medical Graduates that they had undergone physical onsite classes in lieu of online classes, initially permitted them to produce letters/certificates from the educational institutions to the effect that they have undergone physical onsite classes. Later, the 2^nd respondent found that such certificates are issued by Medical Universities abroad indiscriminately and such certificates did not reflect the true facts.

9. The National Medical Commission therefore issued Annexure-R3(d) public notice directing that certificate regarding the compensation/supplementation of online theory subjects/classes with offline practical and clinical training shall not be accepted. The National Medical Commission made it clear that Foreign Medical Graduates, who have attended their classes online for any duration, are required to qualify the FMG Examination and subsequently undergo CRMI for a per