The Delhi High Court has held that AIIMS is obligated to pay stipend to its Indian junior resident doctors, but is not required to do the same for postgraduate medical trainees admitted as foreign students. The court explained that Indian residents constitute a separate, legally distinct class from foreign nationals admitted under a “Foreign” category, and that this classification has a rational basis rooted in policy considerations. The judges observed that allowing foreign students to draw the same stipends as Indian doctors would impose an undue financial burden on AIIMS, as their training is part of international cooperation and not funded like domestic post-graduate training.
The court rejected the argument that foreign postgraduate students, despite performing identical clinical duties, should automatically be entitled to the same emoluments as Indian junior residents. It noted that these students entered the program fully aware of the rules governing their admission, including the condition that they would not receive a stipend. Having accepted admission under those terms, the court said, they cannot later challenge the arrangement.
On the issue of equality under Article 14 of the Constitution, the court found that the distinction between Indian and foreign students is justified. It reasoned that this classification satisfies both the rational basis test and the proportionality test: it is rooted in AIIMS’s financial structure, its mission to prioritize domestic training, and the nature of foreign student admissions being part of bilateral or international educational cooperation.
Ultimately, the court overturned a prior decision by a single judge which had directed AIIMS to pay foreign postgraduate students the same stipend as Indian residents. By doing so, the High Court reaffirmed that stipend payments from AIIMS are properly reserved for Indian junior residents, and that foreign students admitted under a separate category are not entitled to the same financial benefits.
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