Friday, May 20, 2022
Everybody Loves A Good Convict
Everybody Loves A Good Convict
Politics after Perarivalan’s freedom will see a more aggressive Tamil Nadu govt take on Centre on many issues
Arun.Ram@timesgroup.com
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin doesn’t hug just anyone. But then, AG Perarivalan is not just anyone. Hours after the Supreme Court ordered his release on Wednesday morning, the 50-year-old who spent 31 years in prison after being convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, travelled 200km to meet Stalin. The handshake, almost naturally, gave way to a hug.
Stalin called him ‘brother’. Perarivalan’s mother Arputhammal, who waged a three-decade battle to get her son back, looked on with moist eyes. For the family, it was an emotional closure. For Stalin, it was a political statement. It was Perarivalan’s first stop in his thanksgiving pilgrimage where Stalin, by today’s protocol, is the prime political deity in Tamil Nadu.
The free man then paid obeisance to former AIADMK chief ministers Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam. Next in line were PMK founder S Ramadoss, MDMK leader Vaiko and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan. But why are politicians eagerly waiting for this visitor? For one, the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case – and more so Perarivalan’s struggle for freedom – has been a constant catalyst in Tamil Nadu politics and the state-Centre relationship for three decades. If politics is the art of the impossible, irony is the paintbrush.
So, Perarivalan’s release has come as a political shot in the arm for DMK 25 years after the Justice MC Jain commission report implicated the party and its leader M Karunanidhi for abetting Rajiv’s killers and LTTE at large. Expressing sympathy for the convicts has been a delicate task for the mainstream parties in Tamil Nadu as the underlying sense of Tamil nationalism posed them a political conundrum: It was too intangible to be made an electoral plank yet not too abstract to be ignored.
While some parties such as PMK, MDMK, VCK and later NTK that flaunt their Tamil nationalist agenda have been consistently in support of the convicts, the main Dravidian players – DMK and AIADMK – have blown hot and cold over the case to suit the changing political climate. Congress has been the sole exception in this game, but, because of it being an ally of either of the big two, its protests have often been muffled if not muted. Emerging unscathed from the aftermath of the Jain commission’s observations that threatened to shake the IK Gujral government which the DMK was part of, Karunanidhi found his feet. Two years after a TADA court sentenced the Rajiv case convicts to death, he chaired a cabinet meeting that recommended commutation of Nalini’s death sentence.
J Jayalalithaa, the successor of MGR (who was more sympathetic to LTTE than any other Tamil Nadu politician was), accused Karunanidhi of being anti-national. Less than a decade later, Jayalalithaa softened up and, in 2014, surprised everyone by declaring that she would order the release of all the convicts, whether the Centre gave its consent or not. On the same day, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan, Santhan and Murugan.
Jayalalithaa, however, couldn’t walk the talk as the UPA government moved the Supreme Court and stalled her move. Since then it has been a virtual competition between DMK and AIADMK to take credit for being the redeemer of the Rajiv assassination case convicts. In 2016, the Jayalalithaa government wrote to the Centre advocating the release of the seven convicts, a request that the Centre rejected. Just as the ‘human interest’ campaign for Perarivalan’s release gained momentum, the Edappadi government in 2018 invoked Article 161 of the Constitution and recommended to the governor to release the convicts.
Perarivalan’s release is a victory for these AIADMK efforts. Its cabinet recommendation to release the convicts was the basis for the judgment. After much protest over his sitting on the recommendation, the governor forwarded it to the President in January 2021. The Supreme Court’s judgment on Wednesday came down on the governor for not acting on the state cabinet’s advice, adding ammo to the DMK government which has been having a running feud with governor RN Ravi. Soon after meeting Perarivalan, Stalin said his government would take steps for the release of the remaining six convicts in the case. Recollecting that it was his election promise last year, he then sent out a bigger message to a larger audience:
“This is a victory for the whole of India, state autonomy and federalism . . . the judges have made it clear that the governor cannot interfere in the policies of the state government . . . While the judgment is historic on human rights and humanitarian grounds, it has also established the state’s rights in a majestic manner by the apex court. ” Translation: Expect more on not just the release of the remaining convicts, but the state government’s demands on NEET, NEP and other policies.
Perarivalan’s newfound freedom may be a reason for political celebration in Tamil Nadu, but let’s not forget that he has been released not for his innocence, but for the systemic delay. The other convicts in the case are sure to seek the same legal recourse, but the outcomes need not be the same. Till the apex court decides on their fate, the politics of Tamil sub-nationalism will have enough fuel for a sputtering run.
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
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Tuesday, May 17, 2022
KGMU suspends 42 MBBS medicos for hiring juniors as proxies so they can study for NEET PG
KGMU suspends 42 MBBS medicos for hiring juniors as proxies so they can study for NEET PG: Lucknow: Taking stringent measures against the medicos who allegedly used unfair means in their final year MBBS exam, King George's Medical University (KGMU) authorities on Saturday suspended 42...
Lucknow: KGMU suspends 42 medicos for using unfair means in exam
Lucknow: KGMU suspends 42 medicos for using unfair means in exam
TNN | May 15, 2022, 03.49 AM IST
LUCKNOW: King George’s Medical University (KGMU) authorities on Saturday suspended 42 students, including six girls, for eight weeks from the classes as well as hostel on the charges of using or being involved in unfair means in the internal assessment test of the MBBS final year.
This is the biggest action in terms of the number of suspensions in KGMU after 2006 when 105 students were suspended following large-scale violence on the campus.
It is also an unusual incident. Aspiring medicos hiring talented students to clear medical entrance exams has been common in the country, but in this case, senior MBBS students asked their juniors to impersonate for them in the undergraduate internal assessment tests.
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Country Needs Really Qualified Doctors: SC Upholds NMC Regulations For Foreign Medical Students
Country Needs Really Qualified Doctors: SC Upholds NMC Regulations For Foreign Medical Students
by Sanjeev SirohiMay 15, 2022
In a very major development with far reaching consequences, the Supreme Court as recently as on May 2, 2022 in an extremely laudable, learned, landmark and latest judgment titled Aravinth RA vs Secretary To Government Of India Ministry Of Health And Family Welfare in CA 3585-3586 of 2022 and cited in 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 473 has upheld the validity of Regulations 4(a)(ii), 4(b) & 4(c) of the National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations 2021, Schedule II 2(a) and 2(c)(i) of the National Medical Commission (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations, 2021.
Of course, the Apex Court unequivocally held that the National Medical Commission has power to frame these Regulations for foreign medical graduates. The Bench comprising of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice V Ramasubramanian observed that, “It is true that the country needs more doctors, but it needs really qualified doctors and not persons trained by institutions abroad, to test their skills only in their mother land.” The Court was considering an appeal challenging the Madras High Court which had earlier dismissed the writ petition filed by a student who wanted to join an Under Graduate Medical Course in Anna Medical College, Mauritius.
To start with, this brief, brilliant, bold and balanced judgment authored by Justice V Ramasubramanian for himself and Justice Hemant Gupta sets the ball rolling by first and foremost putting forth in para 1 that, “Aggrieved by the dismissal of his two writ petitions praying respectively for, (i) a declaration that Regulations 4(a)(i), 4(a)(ii), 4(b) & 4(c) of the National Medical Commission (Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate) Regulations 2021, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Licentiate Regulations’; and (ii) a declaration that Schedule II 2(a) and 2(c)(i) of the National Medical Commission (Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship) Regulations, 2021, hereinafter referred to as “CRMI Regulations”) both published on 18.11.2021, are ultra vires and violative of Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution, the writ petitioner before the Madras High Court has come up with the above appeals.”
Needless to say, the Bench then states in para 51 that, “As we have seen earlier, the appellant challenged the validity of Regulation 4(a)(i) and Regulation 4(a)(ii), 4(b) and 4(c) of the Licentiate Regulations on several grounds, one of which is the lack of power under the Act. But the provisions extracted above would show that NMC had the power to frame the above Regulations.”
Quite forthrightly, the Bench then postulates in para 52 that, “Prescription of minimum standards would certainly include the prescription of the minimum duration for a course. It may be open to the medical institutions of other countries to prescribe a duration of less than 54 months for the students of their country. But it is not necessary for the NMC and the Central Government to recognise foreign medical degrees of a lesser duration, if the incumbent wants to have permanent registration in India.”
Without mincing any words, the Bench then stipulates in para 53 that, “The prescription of an internship for a minimum duration of 12 months in the same foreign medical institution cannot also be said to be a duplication of internships. The purpose of internship is to test the ability of the students to apply their academic knowledge on their subjects, namely the patients. Medical institutions of other countries may not insist on rigorous internship for students who may not put to test their skills on the population of their country. But it is not necessary for us to follow suit.”
As a corollary, the Bench then also points out in para 54 that, “Similarly, the requirement under Regulation 4(b) has been necessitated to ensure that the students who were imparted medical education in a foreign country demonstrate their skills first on the population of the country where they studied. The necessity for a Master Chef to taste the food prepared by him, before it is served on the guests, cannot be said to be arbitrary. Therefore, the challenge to the Licentiate Regulations, are wholly without basis.”
While cutting across the appellant’s specious contention, the Bench then minces absolutely no words to hold in para 55 that, “The contention that Section 36(4) recognises M.B.B.S. courses of a duration of less than 54 months and that therefore the Licentiate Regulations being a subordinate legislation is ultra vires, is wholly unsustainable. All that subsection (4) of Section 36 saves, are the qualifications already recognised before the date of commencement of the Act and included in the Second Schedule and Part-II of the Third Schedule to the 1956 Act. The fact that past sins are sought to be washed away, is no ground to hold that there cannot be a course correction. As a matter of fact, Section 60 which deals with repeal and saving, also saves under clause (b) of subsection(2), any right, privilege or obligation already acquired. This cannot be stated to be in conflict with what is prescribed for the students of the future. In any case, Section 36 deals only with recognition of the foreign medical courses and not registration as medical practitioner. Registration is covered by Section 33. Therefore, Section 36(4) cannot help the appellant.”
Most significantly, the Bench then states in para 56 what forms the cornerstone of this learned judgment that, “The contention that the country needs more doctors and that by restricting the registration of foreign medical graduates, the fundamental right of the professionals under Article 19(1)(g) and the fundamental right of the citizens under Article 21 are impaired, is to be stated only to be rejected. It is true that the country needs more doctors, but it needs really qualified doctors and not persons trained by institutions abroad, to test their skills only in their mother land.”
Most forthrightly, the Bench then envisages in para 57 that, “The argument that these Regulations constitute an extraterritorial law is misconceived. These Regulations do not encroach into the sovereignty of the countries where those institutions are located, by stipulating minimum standards for the students who want to practice there. These Regulations merely prescribe the minimum standards to be fulfilled by those who study in those institutions who want to practice here in India.”
Most remarkably, the Bench then expounds in para 58 that, “Insofar as the challenge to the CRMI Regulations are concerned, the same is without any substance. If there are institutions in some countries which offer primary medical qualification without mandatory internship, the students are supposed not to seek admissions in those institutions. The mad rush to become medical professionals, cannot drive them to countries where shortcuts to success are offered. The requirement under Para 2(a) of Schedule-II of these Regulations for foreign medical graduates is to ensure that only those who have acquired similar skills are allowed to practice Medicine.”
For sake of clarity, the Bench then seeks to clear the air by pointing out clearly in para 59 that, “The prescription in para 2(c)(i) of Schedule-II of these Regulations that such foreign medical graduates may be posted first in colleges which have been newly opened and have yet to be recognised, is a prescription of necessity. All medical institutions of the country are equipped to provide internships only to as many students as their permitted intake may allow. Therefore, this Regulation is intended to ensure that an undue burden is not cast upon the already recognised institutions.”
As a corollary, the Bench then holds in para 60 that, “Therefore, we find that the dismissal of the writ petitions filed by the appellant before the Madras High Court was fully justified. We could have dismissed the SLPs in limine, but we thought fit to take pains to bring on record the historical facts so that the challenge to these Regulations are nipped in the bud and they do not surface in a different form of avatar.”
Finally, the Bench then concludes by holding in para 61 that, “In view of the above, the appeals are dismissed. However, the costs imposed by the High Court of Madras upon the appellant is waived off, taking into account of the fact that he is a student and also for the purpose of showing the only extent to which, a court can show sympathy in such matters.”
All said and done, this recent, remarkable, robust, refreshing and rational judgment by the Apex Court has sought to send a very loud and clear message that the country needs really qualified doctors. It has also taken the most commendable stand of upholding the NMC Regulations for foreign medical graduates.
It also made it clear that the NMC Regulations are not arbitrary. It also made it indubitably clear that it is not necessary for the NMC and the Central Government to recognise foreign medical degrees of a lesser duration. What really is most comforting to see is that the Apex Court has even though dismissed the appellant’s plea but it has waived off the costs imposed upon the appellant by the Madras High Court considering the fact that the appellant is just a student. No doubt, the Apex Court has done the right thing in doing so!
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