'Manifestly Unreasonable, Arbitrary': Delhi High Court Strikes Down Blanket Ban On Migration Of MBBS Students

The Delhi High Court has quashed Regulation 18 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, which imposed a complete prohibition on migration of MBBS students from one medical college to another.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said that Regulation 18 did not pass the constitutional muster as per Article 14 of the Constitution of India and was manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary. “Regulation 18 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulation, 2023 is, thus, declared ultra vires and, therefore, invalid,” the Court said. It held that reasonable notification is a facet of equality, therefore, every action of State or its instrumentality or public authority should be informed of reasonableness.The Bench made the observations while allowing a plea filed by one Sahil Arsh, an NEET‑UG 2023 candidate in the OBC‑PwD category, challenging Regulation 18 and the National Medical Commission's rejection of his migration request. Arsh had secured admission only in the stray vacancy round in late September 2023, after the Supreme Court intervened to direct that he be treated as a PwD candidate for counselling, by which time no Delhi colleges were available and he was compelled to join Government Medical College, Barmer.As he had certified 40% low vision or blindness, Arsh pleaded that the harsh climate of Barmer aggravated his condition, causing ulcers in his eyes, hampering his day‑to‑day functioning and treatment. On medical advice, he was taking treatment at AIIMS, New Delhi, and sought migration to a Delhi college. He relied on RTI information that one PwD seat in MBBS was available at University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS), Delhi.NMC's order passed on December 30, 2024, rejected his request, citing removal of the migration provision in the 2023 Regulations and asserting that candidates had sufficient time at admission to choose their preferred college and that Arsh had been fully aware of his visual impairment and the difficulties in Rajasthan.Allowing his plea, the Court held that the total prohibition on transfer or migration of a student, need of which may occur in various situations including the one which has arisen in the case in hand, cannot be said to be reasonable. It added that such prohibition was manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary.“The stand taken by the respondent – Commission for imposing a complete embargo on migration of a student from one medical institution to the other, is also that such a provision permitting migration is prone to misuse, however as already held in Jigya Yadav (supra), possibility of abuse cannot be used to deny legitimate rights to a citizen,” the Court said. Further, the Bench described the reasoning given by NMC as “nothing but short of rubbing salt in the wounds of the petitioner,” noting that Arsh had no real choice because his PwD status was recognised late and he could only participate in the stray vacancy round with limited options and no Delhi colleges.“In such a situation, holding the petitioner responsible by observing that he was fully aware of his vision impairment and difficulty at the time of opting the seat at Government Medical College, Barmer. Rajasthan and therefore, he could have opted for any college in Delhi, in our opinion, is against all the canons of reasonableness,” the Court said.Placing significant weight on the statutory mandate under the PwD Act, 2016, the Court said that the provisions “cannot remain only a decorative and admirable piece of literature kept in a bookshelf,” but are binding mandates on all public bodies, including the NMC. “In view of the aforesaid provisions of the PwD Act, 2016, if we examine the complete ban on migration, we find that the same is manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary, as it does not permit even a most deserving student, a PwD, like the petitioner to seek transfer, keeping in view the statutory mandate as per the PwD Act, 2016,” the Court said. Quashing the decision of NMC and striking down Regulation 18, the Bench directed the Commission to take decision afresh on Arsh's prayer seeking his transfer from Government Medical College, Barmer, Rajasthan to University College of Medical Sciences, South Campus, South Moti Bagh, New Delhi, within three weeks. “The National Medical Commission is also directed to formulate a proper policy by way of making/amending the regulations permitting migration of a medical student from one medical institution to the other, of course, putting the requisite and desirable conditions for such transfer,” the Court said. Counsel for Petitioner: Ms.Aditi Gupta, Adv. (DHCLSC) with Ms.Lavanya Bhardwaj, AdvCounsel for Respondents: Mr. T. Singhdev, Adv. with Mr.Abhijit Chakravarty, Mr.Tanishq Srivastava, Ms.Yamini Singh, Mr.Vedant Sood, Ms.Ramanpreet Kaur and Mr.Bhanu Gulati, Advs. for R-1; Mr. Mohinder J.S. Rupal, Adv. with Mr.Hardik Rupal, Ms.Aishwarya Malhotra and Ms.Tripta Sharma, Advs. for University of DelhiTitle:...

'Manifestly Unreasonable, Arbitrary': Delhi High Court Strikes Down Blanket Ban On Migration Of MBBS Students

Nupur Thapliyal

Tags