Stipend For MBBS Students During Compulsory Internship : Supreme Court Issues Notice To Army College Of Medical Science

The Supreme Court, on Monday, issued notice in a plea seeking directions against Army College of Medical Science for non-payment of stipend to MBBS students undergoing compulsory one year internship in the Army base hospital.

While issuing the notice, a Bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hima Kohli asked ASG, Col Bala Subramanium to look into the issue.

"Mr. Bala, these are students who have completed their MBSS from the Army College of Medical Science… and they do not get any stipend. "

The petition submits that the act of the respondent college which is affiliated to the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University is contrary to Clause 3, Schedule IV of the National Medical Commission (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations, 2021, which entitles the petition and similarly situated students to a regular stipend. It is also contended that all other medical colleges including the colleges affiliated to the IP University provide regular stipend during the internship period. It is argued that the non-payment of stipend is unjust, arbitrary and non-justifiable.

Most of the students undergoing the compulsory internship are not residents of Delhi and they have to arrange for accommodation, food and other expenses while they are interning at the hospital. If stipend is not paid, the petition asserts, it would not be possible for them to sustain in Delhi. It appears that apart from the regular work, these students had taken up COVID duties. The EMI for the education loans taken by the students, who have now completed their MBBS has also commenced from April, 2022. The petition highlights that the students are also required to travel for their rural postings in Najafgarh, yet, they are being denied the basic monthly stipend by the respondent college.

As per the petition, when it came to the knowledge of the students that they would not be paid even the bare minimum stipend for their internship, which was to commence from 01.04.2022, they had filed RTI and made representations to the concerned authorities. However, they are still not aware of the reason for the non-payment of stipend.

The petition seeks directions to the respondent college to provide regular monthly stipend to the petitioners for the entire period of their internship. It also implores the Apex Court to issue directions to the college to determine the stipend as per the standards followed by the other medical colleges.

The petition was filed through Dubey Law Chambers and the petitioner was represented by  Advocate, Dr. Charu Mathur and Advocate, Ms. Tanvi Dubey. 

[Case Status: Abhishek Yadav v. Army College Of Medical Sciences & Anr]