Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Siddesh Ramesh Veer, a medical graduate who completed his MD from Smolensk State Medical Academy, Russia, and passed the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) in September 2011, received his National Medical Commission registration in May 2013. Between June 2013 and April 2017, he visited the USA on a visitor visa to meet his mother, a green card holder. During that time, he applied for a non-immigrant J-1 visa to pursue medical research and research project management. In September 2021, he applied for a No Obligation To Return to India (NORI) certificate from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Union of India, by communication dated 02/02/2022, rejected his request citing guidelines dated 03/08/2021. The petitioner challenged this rejection, arguing that the guidelines were issued after he had already left India and could not be applied retrospectively. The Court found that the guidelines dated 03/08/2021 were not in existence when the petitioner left India and applied for the NORI certificate. The Court held that applying the guidelines retrospectively was arbitrary and unsustainable. The Court allowed the writ petition, set aside the impugned communication, and directed the respondents to reconsider the petitioner's application for a NORI certificate without reference to the guidelines dated 03/08/2021. The Court also directed that the reconsideration be completed within four weeks from the date of the order.
Headnote
A) Administrative Law - Retrospective Application of Guidelines - No Obligation To Return to India (NORI) Certificate - Guidelines dated 03/08/2021 - The petitioner, a medical graduate who had completed his MD in Russia and passed the FMGE, sought a NORI certificate to pursue research in the USA. The Union of India rejected his request based on guidelines dated 03/08/2021, which were issued after the petitioner had already left India. The Court held that applying the guidelines retrospectively was arbitrary and unsustainable, as the petitioner's rights crystallized prior to the guidelines. The Court directed the respondents to reconsider the petitioner's application without reference to the 03/08/2021 guidelines. (Paras 1-19)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the guidelines dated 03/08/2021 could be applied to deny the petitioner's request for a No Obligation To Return to India (NORI) certificate when the petitioner had already left India prior to the issuance of those guidelines.
Final Decision
The Court allowed the writ petition, set aside the impugned communication dated 02/02/2022, and directed the respondents to reconsider the petitioner's application for a NORI certificate without reference to the guidelines dated 03/08/2021. The reconsideration was to be completed within four weeks from the date of the order.
Law Points
- Retrospective application of guidelines
- No Obligation To Return to India (NORI) certificate
- Guidelines dated 03/08/2021
- Non-immigrant J-1 visa
- Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE)
- National Medical Commission registration
