Use Of Fake FMGE Certificates To Obtain Internship Cannot Be Taken Lightly: Rajasthan High Court Denies Bail To Foreign Medical Graduates
The Bench noted that it was not in dispute that no one among them was able to get himself registered with the Rajasthan Medical Council and was able to work as a professional Doctor.
The Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur Bench has refused bail to several MBBS graduates accused of using forged Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) clearance certificates to secure mandatory internships, holding that despite possessing valid primary MBBS degrees from abroad, the applicants engaged in a deeply deceptive act by using the passing credentials of other successful candidates to bypass mandatory licensing examinations.
The Court dismissed a batch of bail applications filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) by accused arrested in connection with an FIR registered by the Special Operations Group (SOG), Jaipur, for offences under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B IPC, along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
A Bench of Justice Ravi Chirania observed, “…All of them are students as on date. Though, the petitioners are students, however, their admitted act of using fake certificates of FMGE clearly shows that despite having the professional degrees, they did the above mentioned serious act, which cannot be taken lightly in the given facts and circumstances.
Advocate Amit Puri appeared for the petitioner and Rajesh Chaudhary, GA-cum-AAG appeared for the respondent.
According to the prosecution, the petitioners had obtained MBBS degrees from foreign universities in countries such as Kazakhstan and Georgia. Since they failed to clear the FMGE, a mandatory qualifying examination for foreign medical graduates, they allegedly procured fake FMGE clearance certificates through a racket. These forged certificates were then used to obtain internships in government and private hospitals.
The State informed the Court that the alleged gang manipulated genuine FMGE certificates issued to successful candidates by replacing the details with those of the accused. During investigation, it was found that many of the accused either destroyed the forged certificates or withdrew from their internships after the scam came to light. The prosecution also submitted that while 86 persons had been arrested, more than 78 others remained under investigation, and further arrests were likely.
The petitioners argued that they possessed genuine MBBS degrees, had no criminal antecedents, and had not registered with the Rajasthan Medical Council or practised as doctors. Some also contended that they voluntarily withdrew from internships after learning about the forged certificates.
Rejecting these submissions, the Court noted, “…arguing counsel admitted that petitioners have acquired the degree of MBBS at the relevant time, which is not in dispute, however, they remained unsuccessful as none of them was able to clear their FMG Examination. It is not in dispute that they all used their certificate of Doctors, which did not belong to them as per the record and verification done by the SOG in this case. It is also not in dispute that after the matter came into investigation, they either destroyed the certificates or withdrew their internship. It is further not in dispute that no one among them was able to get himself registered with the Rajasthan Medical Council and was able to work as a professional Doctor…”.
The Bench also rejected the contention regarding default bail, noting that the charge sheet had been filed within the statutory period and that a supplementary charge sheet had also been submitted while investigation continued.
Holding that the allegations were serious and that the investigation was still in progress, the High Court declined to enlarge the petitioners on bail and dismissed all the bail applications.
Cause Title: Shubham Gurjar v. State of Rajasthan (Neutral Citation: 2026:RJ-JP:23597)
Appearances:
Petitioners: Amit Puri, Chandra Shekhar, Anuj Kumar Bassi, Nikhil Saini, Mohar Pal Meena, Sahaj Veer Baweja, Hemant Nahta, Rajat Ranjan, and Raj Kumar Kasana, Advocates.
Respondents: Rajesh Chaudhary (GA-cum-AAG), Vijay Yadav (AGA), Vinod Sharma (AAAG), and Jitendra Nawariya (Dy. SP, SOG, Jaipur, in person).