Requirement Of One-Year Clinical Clerkship For Foreign Medical Graduates With COVID Course Breaks Upheld; Kerala High Court Allows State Medical Council Appeal
Deekshitha Sharmile
The High Court of Kerala Division Bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice P.V. Balakrishnan on Monday, 1 December 2025, allowed an appeal by the State Medical Council and upheld the requirement of a one-year clinical clerkship for Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) who experienced a break in their courses during the COVID-19 pandemic and later returned to their colleges for compensatory training. The dispute concerned FMGs from China who, after completing part of their studies online and then attending on-site compensatory classes, sought provisional registration in Kerala and access to the Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship. The Bench held that they had not sufficiently made up the period of online study as contemplated by the National Medical Commission and therefore were not entitled to exemption from the clerkship condition.
The dispute arose when a group of foreign medical graduates who pursued their medical education in China faced denial of provisional registration by the Kerala State Medical Council and the National Medical Commission. These students had joined their courses between 2017 and 2018 and were compelled to attend online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the relaxation of restrictions, they returned to their parent institutions in China and completed compensatory physical classes.
After obtaining graduation certificates and passing the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination, they applied for provisional registration in Kerala to undertake the Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship. The authorities, however, insisted that they undergo an additional clinical clerkship program, citing inadequacy of compensatory classes. The petitioners challenged this requirement, arguing that they had already fulfilled the conditions prescribed by the National Medical Commission.
The Kerala State Medical Council contended that the compensatory classes attended were insufficient, relying on public notices issued by the National Medical Commission and a clarification provided to the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The petitioners submitted certificates from their universities, verified through the Embassy, and argued that the Council’s insistence on clerkship was arbitrary. The matter centered on the interpretation of public notices dated June 7, 2024, and June 19, 2024, issued by the National Medical Commission.
The Court recorded: “It is the specific case of the petitioners herein that they had traveled back to China and completed their compensatory classes. If they have completed the compensatory classes, then the 2nd respondent cannot take a stand that the petitioners have to undergo a two year Clinical Clerkship.”
The Bench stated: “Going by the statement made by the 1st respondent NMC, the petitioners are entitled to exemption from two year internship and they need to complete only one year CRMI since they have adequately compensated for the online classes by subsequently attending in an offline mode.” It was further observed: “The 2nd respondent in such circumstances will not be justified in imposing a two year Clinical Clerkship upon the petitioners even though the State Medical Councils are competent to assess the eligibility of the petitioners independently.”
The Court noted: “It also cannot be disputed that the High Court is not an expert body to go into the pros and cons or weigh/asses the compensatory classes undertaken by respondent Nos. 1 to 8 and to opine whether they have sufficiently compensated the period of online classes by attending classes in physical mode.”
The Bench recorded: “In such circumstances, this Court does not find any impediment in relying upon Annexure A1 clarification dated 07.08.2025 issued by the NMC (to the Government of Andhra Pradesh) in cases of a similar nature, for the purpose of interpreting Exhibit P21.”
The Court stated: “So, a reading of Exhibits P20 and P21, would show that students who have attended online classes due to pandemic restrictions must undergo physical classes which would sufficiently compensate the period of their online classes.”
The Court declared: “The petitioners are therefore entitled to relief. It is declared that ‘Clinical Clerkship’ is not required for the petitioners as they have compensated their online classes with physical classes in their parent institutions as directed by the 1st respondent. Respondents 2 and 3 are directed to process the registration application of the petitioners and pass appropriate orders/take appropriate decision within a period of six weeks.”
Advocates Representing the Parties
For the Petitioners: Shri Santhosh Mathew, Senior Counsel
For the Respondents: Shri N. Raghuraj, Senior Counsel; Shri K.S. Prenjith Kumar, Standing Counsel, National Medical Commission; Shri Tela Chand V, Government Pleader
Case Title: Kerala State Medical Councils v Daleel Ahmmed and Ors.
Neutral Citation: 2025 : KER : 91757
Case Number: W.A.No.2321 of 2025
Bench: Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, Justice P.V. Balakrishnan
