‘Increase senior resident age limit to 45 years’

Citing the decision of the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry to increase the age limit of senior resident to 45 years, a division bench comprising Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad said, “There is no need to issue any declaration as prayed for.”

However, placing on record the submissions of the standing counsel for Medical Council of India (MCI), as well as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the bench directed the Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary to approve the draft notification sent by the MCI and publish it in the Gazette within three weeks.

Dr P Suresh Kumar and five others working as government doctors in Tamil Nadu Medical Service moved the plea, aggrieved over the amendment in Clause 6 of Schedule-1 of Minimum Qualification for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998, with effect from June 8, 2017, prescribing upper age limit of 40 years to be posted as senior residents.

They contended that while joining the PG medical course, there was no age limit and therefore they were selected to become senior resident/assistant professor on completion of the course, though they crossed the age limit of 40 years on the date of completion of the PG course.

MCI has notified amendment to Minimum Qualification for Teachers in Medical Institutions Regulations, 1998, by which the senior resident was defined as one who is doing his/her residency in the concerned PG subject after obtaining PG degree (MD/MS), and is below 40 years of age.

This, the petitioners claimed, affected their prospects to be posted as senior resident/assistant professor in Directorate of Medical Education (DME), including promotion to higher post, after completing the teaching experience in the concerned specialty department as required under the MCI Rules.