MD Paediatrics medico denied exam eligibility due to maternity leave- Telangana HC seeks response from NMC, KNRUHS
Hyderabad: The legal parameters of maternity leave for a postgraduate medical student will now be considered by the Telangana High Court, as a plea has been filed by a PG medico, who was denied permission to appear for her final year MD Paediatrics examination solely because of availing maternity leave.
The petitioner is from Gandhi Medical College and her final year MD Paediatrics exam is scheduled to be held from 07.10.2025 to 15.10.2025. She availed maternity leave during her period of study, which allegedly made the University declare her ineligible to appear for the exam.
Filing the plea before the High Court bench, the petitioner doctor urged the Court to issue a writ order by declaring the action of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), and the Principal of Gandhi Medical College in not declaring her eligible to appear for the final exam as illegal, arbitrary and violative of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
She also sought a direction to the University and the medical college to consider her as eligible for final year postgraduate MD Paediatrics regular examinations and to declare her results along with other students.
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As per the latest media report by Deccan Chronicle, the petitioner contended before the HC bench that despite otherwise being eligible, she was barred from the examinations scheduled in October 2025, including clinical and viva, solely because she available maternity leave. In her plea, the petitioner argued that the action of KNRUHS and other authorities was illegal, arbitrary, and violative of the Constitution.
The petitioner relied on earlier observations of the High Court in similar matters to argue that maternity leave cannot be a ground for denying examination eligibility. She argued that such leaves should be excluded from consideration while calculating her leave.
After taking note of the submissions, the HC bench comprising Justice K. Lakshman directed the University, Medical College and National Medical Commission to obtain instructions and posted the matter to next Tuesday for further hearing.
