The National Medical Commission (NMC), India’s apex medical education regulator, has reinstated sodomy and lesbianism as unnatural sex offences in its updated curriculum for forensic medicine and toxicology for undergraduate students, the Hindustan Times reported citing a report by news agency PTI.

The revised forensic medicine curriculum also brings back topics such as the hymen and its types, its medico-legal significance, the definition of virginity and defloration, and their medico-legal implications.

These subjects were previously removed in August 2022 following a directive from the Madras High Court.

In addition to these topics, the updated syllabus includes descriptions of legal competencies such as the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), civil and criminal cases, inquests (both police and magistrate’s), and cognisable and non-cognisable offences.

However, the seven-hour course on disability has been excluded from the new curriculum.

The NMC stated in its Competency-Based Medical Education Curriculum (CBME) Guidelines, 2024, that the revision was necessary to reassess all aspects of the existing regulations and guidelines.

The commission highlighted the need to adapt to changing demographics, socio-economic contexts, perceptions, values, advancements in medical education, and stakeholder expectations.

The revised undergraduate medical programme aims to produce an ‘Indian Medical Graduate (IMG)’ equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and responsiveness to function effectively as the first point of contact for the community, while also being globally relevant.

The curriculum emphasises that such a physician should possess skills in promotive, preventative, rehabilitative, palliative care, and referral services.

ALSO READ | Country's First Drone Delivery Of Medicines Made In Meghalaya