HC issues notices to state and National Medical Commission
The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has issued notices to the Secretary of Medical Education and the National Medical Commission regarding alleged discrimination in stipend payments for the compulsory rotatory residential internship (CRRI) of students from private medical colleges in Maharashtra.
During the hearing of a petition filed by medical student Dr. Ayush Pawade from NKP Salve Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center and Lata Mangeshkar Hospital Nagpur, a division bench comprising Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Abhay Mantri directed the respondents to submit their replies by August 8.
According to the petitioner, the National Medical Commission Act defines the stipend for the CRRI period for students admitted to both government and private medical colleges across the country. The petitioner claimed that while the state government provides Rs 18,000 per month as a stipend to medical students during their internship, private medical colleges pay significantly less, ranging from Rs 11,000 to as low as Rs 4,500 per month.
The petitioner, currently studying and performing his internship, stated that he is receiving only Rs 4,000 per month. Advocate Ashwin Deshpande, representing the petitioner, argued that the Fee Regulatory Committee, established under the Maharashtra Aided Private Professional Education Institutes (Regulations on Admission and Fees) Act 2015, only has the authority to define fees, not stipends.
He pointed out that only the National Medical Commission was empowered to define stipends for students registered for compulsory internships. Taking note of these arguments, the High Court has directed the state government and the National Medical Commission to file their respective responses by August 8.