All MBBS can perform sterilisation, says SC

Overrules its 2005 order, does away with mandatory five-year gynaecological experience

In a relief to the Central Government, the Supreme Court on Thursday overruled its 2005 direction and said an MBBS is 8220;competent8221; enough to perform sterilisation operations. Thus the apex court did away with the mandatory five years of gynaecological experience for the purpose.

The Government in its plea had claimed that it was difficult to empanel doctors while adhering to the 2005 order and that its family planning efforts were adversely affected during 2005-6.

The earlier direction had come on a Public Interest Litigation where certain uniform criterion for including doctors on panel to entitle them to carry out sterilisation procedures were laid out.

Accepting the Centre8217;s plea, a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan and also comprising Justices R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari, after hearing arguments put forth by Sushma Suri, advocate for the Union of India, modified the 2005 decision

of making five years of gynaecological experience mandatory for conducting such surgeries.

The Centre highlighted before the Bench how the said mandatory condition was making it difficult to get doctors. 8220;This has resulted in decrease in the number of sterilisation operations during 2005-6 and the family planning programme has suffered,8221; the counsel submitted.

To substantiate, it was submitted how owing to the requirement of five years experience, there has been a drop in surgeries to the level of about 4.1 per cent in 2005-6 as compared to the previous year. Not just this, the first phase of 2006-7 also saw a fall of 12.2 per cent.

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The Government also explained how even an MBBS trained in the procedure could conduct surgeries as these 8220;are simpler procedures8221;. Also as per the guidelines laid done by the Medical Council of India, an MBBS would be competent enough for such surgeries and five years gynaecological experience is not mandatory. The Centre further admitted that no such experience is required for performing male sterilisation procedure.

So, from now onwards, a person with an MBBS degree can perform mnilap tubectomy in women and conventional vasectomy and no-scalpel vasectomy in men.

However, the Government maintained that only a DGO or MS would perform laparoscopic sterlisation, which is a specialised procedure.