Delhi HC rules prohibition on transfer of medical student to another college invalid

The Delhi High Court has ruled that the total prohibition on transfer or migration of a medical student from one college to another is invalid while directing the National Medical Commission to formulate a “proper policy” to permit migration.

A Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said Regulation 18 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulation, 2023 was against the Constitution for being “manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary”.

The court passed the verdict on February 4 while dealing with a petition by a medical student, having 40% visual impairment, who sought his migration from Government Medical College, Barmer, to a college in Delhi.

The court directed the NMC to take a decision within three weeks on the petitioner’s request seeking his transfer.

“What we find is that in the name of maintaining uniformity, standard and integrity in the matter of medical education across the institutions, total prohibition on transfer or migration of a student, need of which may occur in various situations, including the one which has arisen in this case, cannot be said to be reasonable, rather in our opinion, such prohibition is manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary,” the court said.

The court observed that the NMC’s stand that migration was prone to misuse could not be sustained as possibility of abuse could not be used to deny legitimate rights to a citizen.

It noted that the medical condition and capabilities of the petitioner were worsening on account of the harsh climate in Barmer and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (PwD Act) mandated public bodies to ensure that persons with disabilities were provided “reasonable accommodation” and “appropriate environment”.

“The impugned Regulation 18 of Regulations 2023, for the discussions made above, in our opinion, does not pass the constitutional muster as per Article 14 of the Constitution of India and, accordingly, the same being manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary, is held to be ultra vires. Regulation 18 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulation, 2023 is, thus, declared ultra vires and, therefore, invalid,” the court ruled.