Supreme Court issues notice on FMGs plea seeking payment of stipend

The petitioner stated that as per the circulars, FMGs should get paid a stipend equivalent to the Indian Medical Graduates, read here for more details.

Some Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) who are undergoing internship at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government Medical College, Vidisha, filed a plea in the Supreme Court challenging the non-payment of stipend during the compulsory internship. While considering the plea, the Supreme Court of India bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Mehta issued notice on January 23, 2024.

The plea placed its reliance upon circulars dated March 4, 2022, and May 19, 2022, issued by the Apex Medical Commission. The petitioner stated that according to these circulars, the stipend paid to the FMGs should be equivalent to the Indian Medical Graduates, as reported by Live Law.

The plea also highlighted that a notice was issued by Government Medical Education Department, Madhya Pradesh to the Commissioner of Medical Education, Bhopal, which provided that Rs 12760 stipend should be paid to the interns with effect from April 1, 2022.

The internship of petitioners started on April 1, 2023. However, a Rs 12760 stipend was paid to the batch comprising 69 students only for two months. After two months, the students did not receive any stipend since June 2023.

"In other states including Assam, the Foreign Medical Graduates (FMG) are getting a stipend. It is a case of severe harassment if the FMGs are not paid a stipend for the duty rendered by them. The same is also violative of the natural justice principles as it severely sacrifices the basic rights of the FMGs," added the plea.

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