HC allows 8 doctors to appear in pre-PG exam despite incomplete internship

Bhopal: A division bench of the MP high court has allowed eight doctors to appear in the pre-PG exam despite not completing the three years of internship. They claimed that their internship period was two years when they began their internship in MP after completing their MBBS from China, but it was later extended to three years. They challenged the extension of the internship period, arguing that the rules of the game should not be changed midway.The eight doctors in question, including Dr Saurabh Rafguvanshi from Vidisha and Dr Jai Sharma from Ujjain, said they took admission in the MBBS course in China in 2017. They returned home in 2019 following the outbreak of the Corona pandemic and completed their MBBS course online after returning to India.Students who completed MBBS from abroad required one year of internship to get registration as a doctor in MP, but during the Corona period, it was extended to two years. Their internship period would have ended on March 31, 2025, but in November 2024, it was extended to three years.Appearing for the doctors, senior counsel Aditya Sanghi said the National Medical Commission extended the internship period for students doing MBBS from Ukraine and the Philippines due to the war in Ukraine, but the MP Medical Council applied it to all students who completed MBBS from abroad. He argued that the extension of the internship period was challenged in the MP High Court. Meanwhile, pre-PG medical exams are due in June and July, and the last date for filling the form for the exam is June 7. The petitioners will not be able to take the exam without the intervention of the court.The bench of justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vinay Saraf, while issuing notices to respondents in the petition, asked the MP Medical Council to allow the eight doctors to appear in the pre-PG exam.