Delhi High Court orders AIIMS to admit doctor in special course

Letting seat vacant doesn’t serve interest of anyone: High Court
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Photo | EPS)
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Photo | EPS)

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court in a recent order has directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to admit the petitioner doctor to fill a vacant seat in a specialised course, M. Ch. Minimal Access Surgery & General Surgery. The court observed that letting a seat vacant doesn’t serve interest of anyone. The petitioner may be allowed to join the said course in the upcoming academic session starting in July.

“If a doctor, like a petitioner, undergoes training for such a course, it would only prove a valuable addition to the healthcare system. This weighs heavily with the court for granting the relief as prayed for,” the court said.

The petition was filed by one Dr Mahendra Singh Rana who works as a Senior Resident at the Department of Surgery, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Himachal Pradesh. He was selected as a sponsored trainee for M. Ch. Minimal Access Surgery & General Surgery at AIIMS. Due to an unfortunate turn of events, his sponsorship was withdrawn, but subsequently restored. In the interregnum, his admission for the said course was cancelled, constraining him to file the petition before the High Court.

On February 27, 2019, the State Government of Himachal Pradesh had issued a fresh policy for regulating admissions to various post-graduation and super-speciality courses in medical education outside the state. The petitioner was not granted sponsorship under the 2019 Policy and his request to pursue post-graduation at AIIMS, Delhi, was rejected in April 2021.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court vide judgment dated July 19, 2021, directed that the petitioner might be issued the sponsorship certificate/NoC for post- graduation/super-speciality courses outside the state.

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