Let’s Separate Law from Administrative Interpretation

Recently, many doctors in West Bengal have been informed that medical registration must be updated every five years and that 30 hours of Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits are mandatory for such updation.

Before accepting this, it is important to examine what the governing regulations actually say.

Myth 1: A Doctor’s Permanent Registration Expires Every Five Years

Incorrect.

A doctor who has obtained Permanent Registration after fulfilling all statutory requirements remains a Registered Medical Practitioner throughout his or her professional life unless the registration is suspended or cancelled through due process of law for proven professional misconduct or other legally recognised grounds.

Permanent Registration is exactly what its name signifies—it is permanent.

The five-year exercise is not a renewal of registration, nor is it a fresh licence to practise medicine.

Myth 2: Registration Updation Means Renewal of Registration

Again, incorrect.

Registration updation is essentially an administrative exercise meant to keep the Medical Register accurate and up to date.

Its purpose is to record information such as:

• Additional qualifications obtained by the doctor.
• Change of residential or professional address.
• Transfer from one State Medical Council to another.
• Change in practice status.
• Other relevant professional particulars.
• Confirmation that the registered practitioner is alive and continues to practise.

It is not a mechanism to revalidate a doctor’s permanent registration.

What Does the National Medical Commission Say?

On 23 August 2023, the National Medical Commission (NMC):

• Kept the NMC Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2023 in abeyance.
• Clarified that those Regulations would remain inoperative until further notification.
• Restored the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 with immediate effect.

Therefore, the restored MCI Ethics Regulations, 2002 presently govern this subject.

What Do the Restored Regulations Actually Say About CME?

Clause 1.2.3 of the restored MCI Ethics Regulations states that every physician should participate in Continuing Medical Education and continuously update professional knowledge and skills.

The regulation uses the word:

“Should.”

It does not use the words:
“Shall.”
“Must.”
“Mandatory.”

This distinction is not a matter of grammar – it is a matter of law.

• “Should” expresses a professional recommendation.
• “Shall” or “Must” creates a legal obligation.

An administrative authority cannot substitute one for the other.

Can 30 Hours of CME Be Made a Mandatory Condition for Registration Updation?

The restored MCI Ethics Regulations do not state that:

• 30 hours of CME are compulsory;
• a doctor’s registration becomes invalid without these credits; or
• registration updation can be refused solely because a doctor has not completed 30 hours of CME.

Likewise, the NMC notification restoring the MCI Regulations imposes no such condition.

Therefore, linking registration updation with compulsory production of 30 hours of CME credits requires clear statutory authority. Such authority is not found in the restored regulations themselves.

Nobody is Against Continuing Medical Education

Every responsible doctor understands that medicine is constantly evolving.

Continuous learning is not merely desirable – it is essential for better patient care.

Doctors should actively participate in CME programmes, conferences, workshops and academic activities throughout their careers.

But there is an important legal distinction between:

✔ Encouraging professional development, and

✘ Making it a compulsory legal precondition for exercising a statutory right without explicit authority in law.

The Real Issue

This is not a debate about whether doctors should learn.

• They absolutely should.

This is a debate about whether an administrative authority can convert a professional recommendation into a mandatory legal condition without any express provision in the governing regulations.

That distinction matters.

Because in a democracy governed by the rule of law, administrative instructions cannot override statutory regulations, nor can they impose obligations that the law itself does not prescribe.

Professional excellence should always be encouraged.
The rule of law should always be protected.

Dr. Koushik Chaki

NB: If you, the medical professionals think that this message should percolate to all of our colleagues who are apprehensive and running from pillar to post to fulfil the same, which are absolutely non mandated in nature, please share.