Supreme Court Upholds NEET Requirement for Foreign Medical Education
Last Updated on February 20, 2025 by Amit Patra
In a verdict upholding medical education standards, the Supreme Court has upheld National Medical Commission rules requiring NEET qualification for aspirants who desire to study medicine overseas, denying petitions against making the eligibility a must.
The bench of Justices BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran held that the 2018 regulations, prescribing NEET qualification for an Eligibility Certificate, were transparent and equitable. The Court held that the said requirements, framed by way of the Foreign Medical Institution Regulation, 2002, are not ultra vires the Constitution nor inconsistent with the Indian Medical Council Act.
Specifically, the Court dismissed ad-hoc exemption petitions by candidates who have received foreign medical admissions following the imposition of rules. In the opinion of the bench, students traveling to foreign schools with “eyes open” following the changed rules can’t approach the court for exemptions from qualifying standards to practice medicine in India, even though they are welcome to practice elsewhere.
It is done by way of the Indian Medical Council Act 2001 whereby for the first time foreign medical education received the provision for Eligibility Certificate. While bringing in NEET as an eligibility criterion by way of notification in 2018, it was held by the Court that such exercise fell within the boundaries of powers granted under Section 33 of the Act.
This ruling brings into focus the importance of maintaining requirements for entry into medical education as uniform, whether foreign or domestic, to ensure standards of quality in future doctors practicing medicine in India.
