Government of India Act 1935

120 Medical qualifications.

(1) So long as the condition set out in subsection (3) of this section continues to be fulfilled, a British subject domiciled in the United Kingdom or India who, by virtue of a medical diploma granted to him in the United Kingdom, is, or is entitled to be, registered in the United Kingdom as a qualified medical practitioner shall not by or under any existing Indian law or any law of the Federal or any Provincial Legislature, be excluded from practising medicine, surgery or midwifery in British India, or in any part thereof, or from being registered as qualified so to do, on any ground other than the ground that the diploma held by him does not furnish a sufficient guarantee of his possession of the requisite knowledge and skill for the practice of medicine, surgery and midwifery, and he shall not be so excluded on that ground unless a law of the Federation or of the Province, as the case may be, makes provision for securing—

(a) that no proposal for excluding the holders of any particular diploma from practice or registration shall become operative until the expiration of twelve months after notice thereof has been given to the Governor-General and to the University or other body granting that diploma; and

(b) that such a proposal shall not become operative or, as the case may be, shall cease to operate, if the Privy Council on an application made to them under the next succeeding subsection determine that the diploma in question ought to be recognised as furnishing such a sufficient guarantee as aforesaid.

(2) If any University or other body in the United Kingdom which grants a medical diploma, or any British subject who holds such a diploma, is aggrieved by the proposal to exclude holders of that diploma from practice or registration in British India, that body or person may make an application to the Privy Council, and the Privy Council, after giving to such authorities and persons both in British India and in the United Kingdom as they think fit an opportunity of tendering evidence or submitting representations in writing, shall determine whether the diploma in question does or does not furnish a sufficient guarantee of the possession of the requisite knowledge and skill for the practice of medicine, surgery and midwifery, and shall notify their determination to the Governor-General, who shall communicate it to such authorities, and cause it to be published in such manner, as he thinks fit.

(3) The condition referred to in subsection (1) of this section is that British subjects domiciled in India who hold a medical diploma granted after examination in British India shall not be excluded from practising medicine, surgery or midwifery in the United Kingdom or from being registered therein as qualified medical practitioners, except on the ground that that diploma does not furnish a sufficient guarantee of the possession of the requisite knowledge and skill for the practice of medicine, surgery and midwifery, and shall only be excluded on that ground so long as the law of the United Kingdom makes provision for enabling any question as to the sufficiency of that diploma to be referred to and decided by the Privy Council.

(4) A medical practitioner entitled to practise or to be registered in British India by virtue of a diploma granted in the United Kingdom, or in the United Kingdom by virtue of a diploma granted in British India, shall not in the practice of his profession be subjected to any liability , disability, restriction or condition to which persons entitled to practise by virtue of diplomas granted in the other country are not subject.

(5) The foregoing provisions of this section shall, subject to the modifications hereinafter mentioned, apply in relation to British subjects domiciled in Burma who, by virtue of medical diplomas granted to them in Burma or the United Kingdom, are, or are entitled to be, registered in the United Kingdom as qualified medical practitioners as they apply in relation to British subjects domiciled in the United Kingdom who, by virtue of medical diplomas granted in the United Kingdom, are, or are entitled to be, registered in the United Kingdom as qualified medical practitioners.

The said modifications are as follows, that is to say,—

(a) subsection (3) shall not apply and the reference in subsection (1) to the condition set out therein shall be deemed to be omitted;

(b) any reference in subsection (2) or subsection (4) to the United Kingdom shall be construed as a reference to Burma.

(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting any power of any recognised authority in the United Kingdom or British India to suspend or debar any person from practice on the ground of misconduct, or to remove any person from a register on that ground.

(7) In this section the expression " diploma " includes any certificate, degree, fellowship, or other document or status granted to persons passing examinations.