National Medical Commission (TNN)

NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has sought a detailed report on allegations that a private medical college in Bihar made payment of a ₹3.75 lakh hostel fee mandatory for MBBS graduates to start their compulsory internship, with a July complaint alleging that interns feared they would be denied internship if they did not pay.The NMC has forwarded the complaint to the Bihar Directorate of Medical Education and sought a detailed report within 15 days. It has also asked the college to furnish its report on the allegations.The case involves R.D.J.M. Medical College & Hospital in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, where 2021-batch MBBS graduates allegedly faced restrictions on joining their Compulsory Rotatory Medical Internship (CRMI) unless they paid the hostel fee and stayed on campus.The issue was formally brought before the NMC on July 24 by the United Doctors Front (UDF), which represented the affected interns. The complaint alleged that students who had cleared their Final MBBS examination were being prevented from commencing internship and that some had already paid the hostel fee fearing they would otherwise be denied internship.Documents enclosed with the complaint include a July 18 college order stating that no student would be permitted to join MBBS internship unless the prescribed hostel fee was paid in full. The order further stated that, after verification of hostel-fee records, only one student was then eligible to join the internship, while other students would be permitted to join only after clearing their hostel dues.The UDF argued that the NMC’s requirements provide for accommodation for students and interns but do not authorise a college to make hostel residence compulsory or withhold internship for non-payment of hostel fees.

Dr. Lakshya Mittal of the UDF said, “medical students and interns cannot be treated as a source of forced revenue. If a student has fulfilled all academic requirements and is eligible to commence compulsory internship, imposing hostel residence and extracting lakhs of rupees as a precondition is a serious matter that requires regulatory scrutiny. We welcome the NMC’s intervention and expect the Bihar authorities to conduct a time-bound and transparent inquiry.”