Mercy Attempt Plea to Clear MBBS 1st-Year: HC Issues Notice to NMC, Varsity
Madhya Pradesh High Court
Bhopal/Jabalpur: Issuing notices to the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Madhya Pradesh Medical Science University, a Division bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has sought their response to a plea filed by an MBBS student, seeking a 'mercy attempt' to pass the first-year exam.
After failing to clear the first-year MBBS exam in the four attempts allotted to the MBBS students, the petitioner student has now approached the HC bench seeking a 'mercy attempt'.
In his plea, the petitioner, who hails from Morena, said that the financial condition of his family is not good and his family wants him to become a doctor and serve society.
As per the latest media report by the Times of India, the petitioner cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) exam in 2022. However, he could not pass the first-year MBBS exam in the first three attempts. In the fourth attempt, the petitioner student secured 141 marks, nine marks less than the minimum required to pass the exam.
The counsel for the petitioner, senior counsel Aditya Sanghi said that after taking admission to Bundelkhand Medical College in Sagar, the petitioner went into depression due to the atmosphere of the college. Because of this, the student failed to concentrate on studies.
Further, the counsel submitted that the petitioner student failed in the last attempt only by 9 marks and if a 'mercy attempt' is not given to him, his dream of becoming a doctor would be shattered.
In this regard, the counsel also pointed out that a 'mercy attempt' was granted to the students during the COVID-19 pandemic as well. Referring to this, the petitioner's counsel argued that the petitioner could also be granted one final chance.
After taking note of the initial arguments, the HC bench comprising Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vinay Saraf issued notices to the National Medical Commission and MP Medical Science University and sought a response to the plea.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that some of the MBBS students of the 2019-2020 batch had approached the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court seeking additional attempts to clear the examination, and they had also challenged Regulation 7.7.
However, the Delhi High Court Division Bench headed by Delhi Chief Justice Satish Chander and Justice Subramonium Prasad had upheld Regulation 7.7 of Regulations on Graduate Medical Education (Amendment), 2019 by NMC and denied providing relief to the petitioners.
Back in 2023, NMC had allowed one additional attempt (5th attempt) to such MBBS students who were admitted in medical colleges during the academic year 2019-2020 and couldn’t pass their 1st professional MBBS examination. Later, this relaxation was extended to the 2020-2021 batch as well as a one-time measure. These relaxations had been granted considering the COVID-19 pandemic that had hampered medical education.
Also Read: NMC Allows Additional Attempts To MBBS Students Of 2020-2021 Academic Year
