NHRC Slaps Notice on NMC Over “Inhuman” Duty Hours for PwD Medicos
New Delhi, April 23, 2026: The National Human Rights Commission has slapped a notice on the National Medical Commission and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare over alleged “inhuman” duty hours imposed on medical students with disabilities.
The action follows a complaint by the United Doctors Front, led by its chairperson Dr. Lakshya Mittal, exposing what it calls a systemic exploitation of postgraduate medicos.
According to the complaint, PwD students are being forced into punishing 24–36 hour shifts, in extreme cases stretching up to 72 hours—well beyond norms laid down in the Uniform Central Residency Scheme, 1992, which mandates regulated duty hours, weekly offs and leave.
The fallout, the UDF says, is devastating—rising mental and physical stress, suicides, and dropouts, concerns that have already figured in the NMC’s own National Task Force findings in 2024.
PwD medicos, the complaint adds, are worst hit due to lack of reasonable accommodation, poor infrastructure, and weak grievance systems—violating provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 despite prior directions from the social justice ministry.
Calling the allegations “serious violations of human rights,” the NHRC has sought an Action Taken Report from the NMC and the health ministry within two weeks.
The UDF has demanded strict enforcement of residency norms with mandatory weekly offs, especially for PwD students—bringing renewed focus on a system under fire for running on extreme workloads.
