Madurai: The Madurai branch of the High Court has directed the National Medical Commission (NMC) to issue a hall ticket to a Tamil Nadu resident, who completed his MBBS in Ukraine, allowing him to take the qualifying examination required to practice as a doctor in India.
In his petition, Manikandan from Othanchatram, Dindigul District, stated, "I completed a six-year MBBS course at a medical college in Ukraine on June 21, 2023. I applied to take the qualifying examination conducted by the Under-Graduate Medical Education Board for permission to practice as a doctor in India. However, the National Medical Commission rejected my application, citing that I did not meet the minimum age requirement of 17 years by 11 days at the time of joining."
Manikandan requested the court to cancel this rejection and order the issuance of his hall ticket.
Justice G.R. Swaminathan, presiding over the case, noted, "This case is unique. The petitioner has already completed his MBBS and is not seeking fresh admission. He merely wants to sit for the screening test." He pointed out that while the petitioner had joined a foreign college without taking NEET, a requirement that was not enforced by the NMC at that time, the mandatory NEET requirement for admission to foreign medical institutions only came into effect from the academic year 2019-20.
Furthermore, the petitioner highlighted that two individuals who joined the same university in Ukraine in 2017 were permitted to participate in the screening examination. Justice Swaminathan stated, "A different standard should not be applied."
He added that if the petitioner were seeking to study MBBS in India, he would need to write NEET and meet the age qualification. However, since the petitioner has already completed six years of study, denying him relief now would cause undue hardship. Thus, the rejection of his application is set aside.
The court ordered the Secretary of the National Medical Commission to issue the hall ticket and allow the petitioner to appear for the screening test.