Supreme Court directs AMU to pay stipends within two weeks to 11 foreign medical interns. Court says all interns, regardless of nationality, are entitled to stipends.
New Delhi: Today, on July 15, the Supreme Court of India has directed Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to release stipend payments within two weeks to 11 foreign medical graduates who are undergoing their mandatory internship at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), a college affiliated with AMU.
The court emphasized that these foreign graduates must be treated at par with Indian medical graduates since they are doing the same internship work under the rules of the National Medical Commission (NMC).
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Arvind Kumar passed this order, stating that AMU must release the stipend money from its own funds without waiting for financial assistance from the University Grants Commission (UGC) or the Central Government.
The Supreme Court firmly stated that
“all medical interns, regardless of their country of graduation, are entitled to stipends.”
This means there should be no discrimination between Indian and foreign medical graduates when it comes to paying stipends for internship duties.
The petition was filed by 11 foreign graduates, including one named Zabihullah, who brought to the court’s attention the unfair practice of giving stipends only to Indian graduates, while denying the same to foreign nationals who are performing identical tasks during their internship.
The plea pointed out that this discrimination goes against the guidelines of the National Medical Commission which make no distinction between Indian and foreign graduates when it comes to internship responsibilities.
Taking note of this, the bench clearly directed that the university should pay the interns from its current financial resources.
“The Supreme Court asked AMU to release the money from its own fund.”
In addition to this, the apex court also gave protection to AMU from possible action by the UGC for not obtaining prior approval before allowing these foreign graduates to start their internship.
“The top court further asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) not to take any steps against AMU on account of the fact that no prior approval was sought from it.”
During the hearing, AMU explained to the court that it is currently in discussion with both the Centre and the UGC for additional financial support to accommodate the stipend requirements of foreign medical graduates in the future.
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“The AMU said it was currently having consultations with the Centre and the UGC on additional funding to support future interns who are foreign graduates.”
With this decision, the Supreme Court has made it clear that there should be no difference between foreign and Indian medical graduates during their internship period and that all interns must be paid a stipend for their work.
The ruling also ensures immediate financial relief to the 11 affected students and sets a precedent for similar cases in the future.
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