The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Centre and NMC on a PIL challenging ‘inhuman’ duty hours of resident doctors, as petitioners highlighted “exploitative and unconstitutional working conditions” imposed on young medical professionals across hospitals nationwide.
The Supreme Court bench, including Justices M.M. Sundresh and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, issued a notice to the Union Government and the National Medical Commission (NMC) on August 22, 2025.
This follows a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the United Doctors’ Front (UDF), which argues against the “inhuman” working hours imposed on resident doctors.
Previously reported by Medical Dialogues, the UDF has challenged what it describes as “exploitative and unconstitutional working conditions” faced by resident doctors nationwide.
The plea, represented by Advocates Mr. Satyam Singh and Ms. Neema (AOR), calls for the Supreme Court’s urgent intervention to enforce compliance with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s 1992 directives, which stipulate that resident doctors should not exceed 12 hours of work per day and 48 hours per week.
Dr. Lakshya Mittal, President of the UDF, commented,
“Resident doctors are routinely made to work between 70-100 hours weekly without adequate rest, leading to chronic stress, physical exhaustion, and deteriorating mental health. This not only endangers the doctors but also compromises patient safety.”
The PIL emphasizes that, despite clear directives from the Supreme Court over the past thirty years, medical institutions persistently violate these standards without consequence.
It also references the National Task Force report on Mental Health and Well-being of Medical Students, which documented over 150 suicides among medical students in five years, primarily attributed to work-related stress and lack of sleep.
Counsel for the petitioner, Advocates Mr. Satyam Singh and Ms. Neema, have urged the Court to mandate all government and private medical institutions to adhere to the 1992 directive regarding duty hours.
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They also called for relevant authorities to develop and enforce duty rosters that acknowledge human psychological and physical limits, along with establishing mechanisms to ensure compliance with these regulations.
Advocate Satyam Singh said,
“This is not merely about labor rights but about the fundamental right to life with dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution,”
This PIL emerges following the Supreme Court’s observations in the RG Kar Medical College case last year, where the court labeled the working conditions of resident doctors as “inhuman.”
The case is expected to be scheduled for hearing in the upcoming weeks.
The United Doctors’ Front (UDF) has approached the Supreme Court amid ongoing discussions between the Central Government and stakeholders regarding this issue. Medical Dialogues previously reported that, after approximately 33 years since the introduction of the Central Residency Scheme in 1992, the Central Government held its first review meeting to consider modifications to the existing scheme.
One proposed change is to limit the duty hours of resident doctors to 48 hours per week, a long-standing demand from junior and senior resident doctors in medical colleges.
While Dr. Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services, indicated that no final decisions were made during the meeting, both Dr. Lakshya Mittal, National President of UDF, and the Chief Patron of the FAIMA Doctors Association reported that the DGHS has agreed to revise the rules to specify the fixed duty hours as 48 hours per week.
A recent nationwide survey conducted by the United Doctors Front (UDF) and Medical Dialogues highlighted that a striking 86% of young doctors and medical students in India believe that excessive duty hours are detrimental to their mental health and compromise patient safety.
The online survey, carried out from March 12 to March 24, 2025, collected responses from 1,031 MBBS interns and PG medical students across all Indian states and union territories. Over 62% of respondents reported working more than 72 hours per week, and more than half indicated they do not receive a weekly day off, reflecting a pervasive culture of overwork in India’s medical institutions.
Case Title: United Doctors Front (UDF) Regd v. Union of India and others, WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) 21183/2025.
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