Kochi: Kerala High Court Quashes Medical Council Notices

Background of the Case

The Kerala High Court has annulled notices issued by the Travancore Cochin Medical Council that mandated doctors to include the suffix ‘equivalent to MBBS in India’ alongside their names and degrees. This decision arose from a petition submitted by physicians who completed their medical qualifications, such as MD (Physician) or MD (Doctor of Medicine), from institutions outside India.

Court’s Observations

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, presiding over the case, highlighted the absence of any regulations or guidelines from the Medical Council of India (MCI), now known as the National Medical Commission (NMC), that would support such a directive. The court stated, “In the absence of any regulation or guideline authorising the same, the State Medical Council could not compel doctors to modify their name boards or letterheads.”

Details of Foreign Medical Degrees

The medical degrees considered equivalent to MBBS in India include the M.D. (Physician) from countries like Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, MBChB from the UK and New Zealand, as well as MD from the USA and Canada, and MBBS from Australia. These qualifications must adhere to NMC standards, which specify a minimum duration of 54 months, a 12-month internship, and successful completion of the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE).

Legal Proceedings and Court Rulings

The doctors contested the State Medical Council’s notices, which insisted they display the equivalency of their foreign MD degrees on their name boards and letterheads. Upon reviewing the situation, the Court reaffirmed that no legal basis existed for such requirements. Additionally, the Court referenced a previous ruling indicating that while doctors are not obliged to publicly state the equivalency, they must submit their registration certificates to the State Medical Council. This allows the Council to provide an endorsement verifying that their foreign qualifications are equivalent to MBBS in India.

Conclusion

Following this reasoning, the Court instructed the petitioners to complete the endorsement process with the Council. Consequently, the writ petition was granted, and the contested notices were nullified.