Rights panel notice to AIIMS: SC/ST medicos facing caste bias, long duty hours
The representation was submitted to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) by the United Doctors Front (UDF), an association of doctors and medical students in India advocating for the rights, safety, and welfare of the medical community
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Wednesday issued a notice to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, concerning the “protection of Scheduled Castes (SC) medical students from rights violations and discrimination”.
The notice follows a representation submitted by the United Doctors Front (UDF), an association of doctors and medical students in India advocating for the rights, safety, and welfare of the medical community. The representation highlighted caste-based discrimination faced by postgraduate medical students from Scheduled Castes at AIIMS, alongside concerns over “inhuman duty hours”.
The commission, in its notice, said following the complaint, it has decided to investigate the matter under the powers conferred upon it by Article 338 of the Constitution. “You are hereby requested to submit the facts and information on the action taken regarding the allegations/matters to the undersigned within 15 days of receipt of this notice...,” the notice read.
It warned that if the Commission does not receive a response within the given time, it can use the powers of a civil court under Article 338 of the Constitution to summon you or your representative to appear before it.
The representation to the commission states that SC students face many challenges to secure a seat in their preferred medical colleges, including financial burdens for coaching. Instead of being supported, they often face caste-based discrimination from colleagues, roommates, and professors, sometimes being pushed to quit their course or even consider harming themselves.
“It is unfortunate that caste-based discrimination still exists, even in premier institutes. PG students from the SC community often face discriminatory comments about academics and other matters, yet many do not report these incidents for fear of further rejection. Action is urgently needed to create a safer, non-discriminatory environment. We also continue to receive complaints about excessively long and inhuman working hours at the hospital,” said Dr Lakshya Mittal, president of UDF.
Regarding long working hours, the representation states, “Many students are subjected to excessive duty hours ranging from 24 to 36 continuous hours, sometimes extending up to 72 hours. Such gruelling, inhumane schedules lead to numerous suicides and dropouts of meritorious students every year.”
It adds, “Even though students from every community are affected by long duty hours, the impact on PG students from Scheduled Backward Communities is particularly severe, as they are vulnerable to caste-based harassment, bullying, and all forms of discrimination—not only from superiors but also from colleagues and roommates. This increases their stress manifold and may push them to take extreme steps.”
The representation has urged the institute to “implement duty hours as prescribed in the Uniform Central Residency Scheme (UCRS) in all institutions, protect the fundamental rights of PG medical students from the SC community, and prevail upon the NMC to constitute a third-party independent monitoring body to ensure compliance and take strict punitive measures for any violations.”
AIIMS has yet to respond.
