Supreme Court seeks Centre, NMC response on plea against ‘inhumane’ working hours for resident doctors

The Supreme Court has sought a response from the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Union government on a petition filed by the United Doctors Front (UDF) against the “inhumane” working hours of doctors.

The UDF, which has been actively voicing support for NEET aspirants, recently filed a petition challenging the “systematic exploitation” of resident doctors across the country.

The Supreme Court bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice NK Singh heard the matter and issued notice to respondents.

The petitioners sought strict compliance with the 1992 guidelines that limit resident doctors working hours to 12 hours per day and 48 hours per week.

Welcoming the top court’s decision to take up the plea, doctors shared on social media how resident doctors are forced to work 70–100 hours a week.

Dr Arun Kumar alleged that for over three decades, the government and medical colleges have ignored the law. He argued that such burnout not only violates the rights of resident doctors but also compromises patient safety. He equated overwork with exhausted doctors and unsafe patients.

“This is not a request, it’s law. And violation = contempt and right abuse,” he added in an X post.

Also read 'Why is NMC silent?' KM Medical College ‘forces’ PG doctors to admit 100 patients in 15 days

What does 1992 central guidelines mandate?

According to the Supreme Court Observer, the apex court in 1985 directed all state governments, universities, and medical colleges to adopt a centralised residency scheme by 1993. Following this order, the ministry of health issued guidelines on June 5, 1992, which capped resident doctors’ duty hours at 12 hours per day and 48 hours per week.

According to the petitioners, despite this clear directive, medical colleges and the central government have routinely pushed doctors into 70–100-hour workweeks without adequate rest.

The National Medical Commission (NMC) also issued the Post-graduate Medical Education. Regulations ( PGMER 2023 ), which stated: "All post-graduate students will work as full-time resident doctors. They will work for reasonable working hours and will be provided reasonable time for rest in a day."

However, the statutory body did not set a concrete limitation on working hours, the petitioners said.

Doctors also stated that breaches in duty-hour rules also violate resident doctors’ fundamental rights under Article 21.

A recent RTI data confirmed violations of duty-hours in AIIMS Bhubaneswar and AFMC Pune . The UDF alleged that junior doctors in these two colleges were forced to work for 24 to 36 hours.

The Supreme Court will tentatively hear the matter on October 14, as per computer-generated schedule.