ndian doctors have won a significant legal battle in the high court of Justice as the British government agreed to withdraw a "discriminatory clause", which would have excluded them from the job interview and appointment process if they did not have visas beyond August 1, 2007.
The high court was due to hear on Thursday the application filed by the British Association for People of Indian Origin for permission to take a judicial review of the injunction on rules affecting Highly Skilled Migrant Programme doctors.
"As the judge began the hearing on Thursday, the secretary of state's counsel requested a brief adjournment. BAPIO was then informed that the secretary of state was prepared to concede. BAPIO accepted this offer and agreed to withdraw the case," Dr Ramesh Mehta, president of BAPIO, said.
"For the first time a clear message has been sent out that promises made to International Medical Graduates must be kept. HSMP doctors were allowed in to make UK their home; HSMP doctors must be treated at par with UK and EU nationals and there is no basis for discriminating against them," Mehta said.
On March 4, BAPIO obtained an emergency injunction to prevent discrimination of doctors on HSMP visa whose visas were due for renewal before August 1, in the first round of the current recruitment for 21,000 training jobs.
This was necessary because while the Department of Health had agreed to keep the new rules discriminating against HSMP doctors in abeyance, it had introduced a new clause which stated that to be considered for the interview these doctors must have HSMP visa that was current on August 1, 2007.
BAPIO believed that this would disadvantage many international doctors whose visa came up for renewal before this date and hence, filed for and obtained this injunction.
Image: Doctors from the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin demonstrate outside Downing street in London's Whitehall.
Photograph: Andersen/AFP/Getty Images
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