Foreign medical graduates are entitled to permanent registration if they meet statutory eligibility requirements without mandatory CRRI after internship abroad.

JUDGMENT

The questions arise for consideration in these writ petitions instituted by the same person are common and they are, therefore, disposed of by this common judgment. The cases relate to the right of the petitioner to obtain registration with the second respondent, the Travancore Cochin Medical Council (the State Medical Council) to practice medicine in terms of the Travancore Cochin Medical Practitioners Act, 1953 (the TCMP Act).

2. The parties and documents are referred to in this judgment, unless otherwise mentioned, as they appear in W.P.(C) No.18825 of 2021.

3. The petitioner, a citizen of India, after clearing the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination from a school affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education joined Dubai Medical College for Girls during September, 2014 for obtaining medical qualification without obtaining Eligibility Certificate insisted in terms of Section 13 (4B) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (the IMC Act) in order to become eligible to seek medical qualification from a medical institution abroad. Later, during 2017, the petitioner applied to the then Medical Council of India (the Medical Council of India) and obtained Eligibility Certificate. The petitioner graduated the medical course during May, 2019. Thereupon, she underwent one year internship in the various teaching hospitals under the Dubai Health Authority from 21.07.2019 to 19.09.2020 as per the norms prevailing in that country in order to become eligible to be enrolled as a medical practitioner therein. On completion of the internship, the petitioner cleared the licensing examination conducted by the Dubai Health Authority for registration as medical practitioner and obtained registration for the said purpose on 18.11.2020. In the meanwhile, during June, 2019, the petitioner cleared the Screening Test in terms of (4A) of the IMC Act in order to become eligible to be enrolled in a State Medical Register in India as well.

4. It is stated by the petitioner that on the strength of the medical qualification obtained by the petitioner from the medical institution abroad and the qualification in the Screening Test, she is entitled to practice medicine in India and with a view to practice medicine in the State of Kerala, the petitioner preferred an application on 18.01.2020 to the State Medical Council for provisional registration. On the said application, the State Medical Council directed the petitioner to file an affidavit stating, among others, that the provisional registration will not be used by her for any purpose other than doing Compulsory Rotatory Residential Internship (CRRI) in any one of the institutions approved by the Medical Council of India. Ext.P11 is the communication issued by the State Medical Council to the petitioner in this regard. In response to Ext.P11 communication, the petitioner submitted Ext.P12 affidavit before the State Medical Council on the above lines and obtained provisional registration with them on that basis.

5. According to the petitioner, since she has already undergone internship in the country of education as part of the medical course undertaken by her, she is entitled to permanent registration straightaway in the State. As such, after having obtained the provisional registration, the petitioner instituted W.P.(C) No.2992 of 2021 before this Court seeking, among others, a declaration that she is entitled to permanent registration to practice medicine in the State and also for a direction to the State Medical Counc