Supreme Court: Abhishek Yadav FMG Stipend Equal to IMGs

• The Supreme Court has ruled that foreign medical graduates (FMGs) must receive stipends equal to Indian medical graduates (IMGs) during their compulsory internships.
• The ruling, in the case of Abhishek Yadav & Ors. v. Army College of Medical Sciences & Ors., was issued by Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi on September 17.
• State governments have been given a final two-week period to disburse all pending stipend amounts to FMGs, with a warning that health secretaries of non-compliant states will be summoned.
• Evidence presented to the Court showed that nearly 50% of surveyed medical colleges were not paying any stipends to FMG interns, despite paying IMGs.
• This decision mandates immediate policy adjustments by medical institutions and state health departments to ensure equitable internship pay.

Non-compliance with this Supreme Court medical internship pay directive could lead to potential contempt proceedings, signaling a robust enforcement mechanism.

The Supreme Court of India has issued a definitive ruling affirming that foreign medical graduates (FMGs) undertaking compulsory rotating medical internships across the country are entitled to stipends equivalent to those received by their Indian medical graduate (IMG) counterparts. This significant decision, stemming from the case of Abhishek Yadav & Ors. v. Army College of Medical Sciences & Ors., addresses long-standing disparities in compensation for medical interns. The bench, comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi, delivered the order on September 17, setting a clear precedent for fair remuneration.

In a stern directive, the Court has granted state governments a final two-week window to disburse all outstanding stipend amounts owed to FMGs. Failure to comply with this order will result in severe consequences, as the Supreme Court explicitly warned that it would summon the health secretaries of any non-compliant state governments. This underscores the urgency and seriousness with which the judiciary views the immediate rectification of these payment discrepancies, ensuring that the ruling on Abhishek Yadav FMG stipend Supreme Court is enforced without delay.

The Supreme Court's ruling was prompted by a series of petitions that brought to light the pervasive issue of non-payment and discriminatory stipend disbursal affecting foreign medical graduate interns. These petitions specifically detailed instances within government medical colleges and hospitals nationwide, revealing a systemic problem where FMGs were often denied fair compensation for their work. Advocate Charu Mathur, representing the FMG petitioners, played a crucial role in presenting the evidence that informed the Court's decision.

During the proceedings, Mathur presented a comprehensive tabular analysis derived from affidavits submitted by the National Medical Commission (NMC). This analysis revealed a concerning picture: out of 823 medical colleges across India, the NMC had only provided data for 443 institutions. Even within this limited dataset, nearly half of the colleges were found to be withholding any form of stipend from their FMG interns. Furthermore, it was brought to the Court's attention that numerous state medical colleges were routinely paying regular stipends to Indian medical graduates while simultaneously denying equal remuneration to foreign medical graduates, highlighting a clear pattern of FMG IMG stipend discrimination.

The Supreme Court's unequivocal stance means that medical institutions and state health departments must immediately review and adjust their stipend policies to ensure foreign medical graduates receive equal pay as Indian medical graduates during internships. The two-week deadline for states to disburse pending amounts is a critical period, with the threat of health secretaries being summoned serving as a powerful incentive for prompt action. This ruling effectively sets a new standard for medical internship pay across the country, aligning with principles of equality and non-discrimination.

Non-compliance with this Supreme Court medical internship pay directive could lead to potential contempt proceedings, signaling a robust enforcement mechanism. The judgment in Abhishek Yadav & Ors. v. Army College of Medical Sciences & Ors. reinforces the judiciary's commitment to protecting the rights of all medical professionals, irrespective of their origin of medical education. This decision will likely necessitate a re-evaluation of existing National Medical Commission stipend guidelines and institutional practices to ensure universal adherence to the principle of equal pay for equal work for all medical interns.

Medical institutions and state health departments must immediately review and adjust their stipend policies to ensure foreign medical graduates receive equal pay as Indian medical graduates during internships, or face potential contempt proceedings and summons from the Supreme Court for non-compliance.

Source: Original reporting via Bar and Bench