3-Year MD Residency Need Not Be From Single Institute: Delhi HC Quashes AIIMS Rejection Of Meritorious Doctor
Cumulative 1095 days of PG training across recognised colleges satisfies eligibility for admission; merit cannot be defeated by unwritten conditions
Justice Jasmeet Singh, Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has set aside AIIMS Delhi’s order cancelling the candidature of a doctor who secured AIR 4 in the Institute of National Importance Super-Specialty (INI-SS) entrance for DM Critical Care Medicine, holding that the required three years (1095 days) of MD residency can be completed cumulatively across institutions, unless the prospectus expressly states otherwise.
Holding that the petitioner’s tenure even if physically fragmented in parts totaling to 1095 days in the same discipline, falls within the parameters of Clause 4.3.2 of the prospectus, emphasising that merit and fairness prevail over technicalities.
A bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh observed, “…I am of the view that the Courts are duty bound to act in order to protect the interest of meritorious students and the same cannot be allowed to be violated by adopting interpretations, which is contrary to the clear and express language of the prospectus. It is pertinent to note that the right to pursue higher education even though not explicitly spelt out as a fundament right in the Constitution, it is an affirmative obligation on part of the state to ensure that the same is not curtailed lightly on merely technical or procedural grounds. The action taken by the respondent No. 1 Institution is devoid of reasons and lacks the essence of justifiability”.
Advocate Anushree Kapadia appeared for the petitioner and Advocate Anand Varma appeared for the respondent.
The pertinent question before the Court was whether Clause 4.3.2 of the INI-SS prospectus which required completion of “3 years (1095 days) tenure” by the cut-off date, mandates that the entire residency must be from one institution.
In the present matter, the petitioner completed his MD (Anaesthesiology) training in phases at 3 NMC-recognised institutions due to counselling reshuffles during the COVID period: 15 days at Pramukhswami Medical College, 54 days at AMC MET Medical College, until he got admission in his top preference university at GCS Medical College, Ahmedabad, where he completed the remaining 1026 days of medical residency.
These periods totaled 1095+ days, and the university granted him an MD degree certifying completion of the required tenure. He later qualified the INI-SS exam and was selected for DM admission at AIIMS.
The petitioner subsequently qualified all stages of the exam and secured an All India Rank of 4, pursuant to which, he reported to AIIMS Delhi on 01-01-2026.
Thereafter, he was informed about his lack of residency experience as the same was obtained from three different institutions. Pursuant to which, he made a representation to the Controller of Examination stating that no rule or regulation provided that the said experience has to be from a single institute or that cumulatively it was impermissible.
However, AIIMS cancelled his candidature, claiming the residency experience was invalid because it was not from a single institute.
The Court, thus, after considering the relevant clause, merit of the Doctor observed that the petitioner’s candidature falls under Clause 4.3.2 of the prospectus for the Institute of National Importance Super-Specialty Entrance Test for the January 2026 session issued by the Institution.
Consequently, the impugned rejection letter dated 02-01-2026 was quashed and set aside.
Cause Title: Meet Bhadresh Shah All India Institute Of Medical Sciences & Ors. [Neutral Citation: 2026:DHC:823]
Appearances:
Petitioner: Anushree Kapadia, Pranay Bhardwaj, Shivank Singh, Advocates.
Respondents: Anand Varma, Ayush Gupta, Kanav Vir Singh (SPC), Siddharth Garg, Himanshu Chaubey, Srijan Sinha, Lihzu Shiney Konyak, Srajan Yadav, Trisha Garimala, Kapil Midha, Muskaan Garg, T Singhdev, Abhijit Chakravarty, Tanishq Srivastava, Yamini Singh, Vedant Sood, Advocates.