Supreme Court raps NMC for non-payment of stipends to medical interns

Pulling up National Medical Commission (NMC) for failing to ensure payment of stipends to medical interns across the country, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the regulator of the medical profession to ‘get up from slumber’.

A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria – which expressed strong displeasure over NMC’s inaction – noted that medical interns often worked for more than 18 hours a day and that payment of a stipend was the bare minimum they deserved.

Terming the lapse as “deeply concerning” and “unjustified", particularly in light of the long working hours endured by young doctors, the top court said, “The conduct of NMC requires to be deprecated in as much as the payment of the stipend to the interns has been pending since long before this court and yet, NMC seems to be dragging its feet without any serious consideration.

“As such, we are forced to make this observation. We hope and trust NMC would get up from its slumber and take appropriate steps as indicated in its own communication dated July 11, 2025, at least by the next date of hearing.”

The court’s outburst came after advocate Tanvi Dubey pointed out on behalf of the petitioners that NMC had not complied with the July 11 communication on the payment of stipend.

The bench directed NMC to file an affidavit enclosing the list of medical colleges/institutes which have published the details as indicated in the July 11 communication and produce the copy for its perusal,

It asked the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to ensure that NMC complied with the July 11 communication.

The top court has been hearing petitions of medical students, including those having foreign MBBS degrees, raising the issue of non-payment of stipends for internships.

In its July 11 communication, NMC sought mandatory disclosure of fee structure and medical stipends from colleges and said that non-compliance with its order would attract regulatory measures, including a show-cause notice, imposition of financial penalties, withdrawal of course recognition and suspension of admission.