The Delhi High Court has quashed a law that imposed a blanket ban on the migration of undergraduate medical students from one college to another [Sahil Arsh v National Medical Commission & Ors].
By a judgment delivered on February 4, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said that Regulation 18 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulation, 2023, is manifestly arbitrary and ultra vires.
The Court held that a total prohibition could not be justified under law, particularly when it resulted in denial of relief even in the most deserving and exceptional cases.
“The impugned Regulation 18 of Regulations 2023, for the discussions made above, in our opinion, does not pass the constitutional muster as per Article 14 of the Constitution of India and, accordingly, the same being manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary, is held to be ultra vires. Regulation 18 of the Graduate Medical Education Regulation, 2023 is, thus, declared ultra vires and, therefore, invalid,” the Court ruled.
The ruling came in a petition filed by Sahil Arsh, a medical student with 40 per cent visual impairment, who sought transfer from a government medical college in Rajasthan's Barmer to a college in Delhi on medical grounds.
Arsh argued that the harsh weather conditions in Barmer had aggravated his condition and that he required continuous treatment in Delhi. His request was rejected by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
The Court refuted the NMC’s justification that the migration ban was necessary to preserve uniformity, academic standards and the integrity of the merit-based admission process.
Instead, the Bench noted that the earlier regulations had permitted migration in exceptional and compassionate circumstances, and there was no rational basis for eliminating that window altogether.
The Court highlighted the obligations imposed by the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and held that the NMC, as a statutory body, was bound to ensure equality, non-discrimination and reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities.
A regulation that barred even deserving PwD students from seeking exception could not withstand constitutional scrutiny, the Court added.
Therefore, the Bench declare the Regulation invalid. It set aside the NMC’s order rejecting Arsh’s transfer request and directed it to take a fresh decision in three weeks.
Further, the NMC was directed to formulate a proper policy permitting migrations of medical students.
Advocates Aditi Gupta and Lavanya Bhardwaj appeared for petitioner Sahil Arsh.
Advocates T Singhdev, Abhijit Chakravarty, Tanishq Srivastava, Yamini Singh, Vedant Sood, Ramanpreet Kaur and Bhanu Gulati represented the NMC.
Delhi University was represented by advocates Mohinder JS Rupal, Hardik Rupal, Aishwarya Malhotra and Tripta Sharma.
[Read Judgment]