Acting on directions from the Patna High Court, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has instructed all State and Union Territory medical education departments to urgently fill vacant teaching posts in medical colleges within six months.
In an official communication, NMC Secretary Dr Raghav Langer wrote to senior officials across States/UTs, asking them to initiate time-bound recruitment drives. The directive follows the High Court’s January 17, 2026 judgment in the case Dr Shyam Kumar Satyapal & Ors. vs. National Medical Commission & Ors.
The court had directed the NMC to ensure that state governments take prompt action to address the large number of vacancies in medical teaching services. It emphasised that the recruitment process should ideally be completed within six months from the date of the order.
While dismissing the petition, the High Court observed that merely enforcing strict attendance systems would not improve healthcare outcomes unless staffing shortages are addressed. It highlighted that excessive workload on existing faculty sometimes extending to 24-72 hours without breaks could lead to burnout and attempts to bypass attendance systems.
The case originated from a challenge to the NMC’s 2025 directive mandating a face-based Aadhaar authentication system for faculty attendance through the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS). Faculty members from several government medical colleges in Bihar had argued that the system, which includes GPS-based attendance tracking, violated their fundamental right to privacy as recognised in the K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India judgment.
However, the court upheld the NMC’s decision, noting that the biometric system aims to improve transparency and accountability. At the same time, it stressed that filling vacant posts is critical to strengthening the healthcare system.
Following the ruling, the NMC has directed all states and UTs to take necessary steps in line with the court’s observations and complete recruitment within the stipulated timeframe.