CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed TN Dr MGR Medical University to conduct second or third valuation, as the case may be, and send all answer scripts of a batch of petitioners in PG medical course irrespective of whether they have failed to secure the minimum pass mark in one paper or to secure minimum marks in the aggregate.
This relief can very well be extended by the university to candidates, who have not approached this court, as it appears that there are only a few candidates, who have been declared failed, a single judge has said. The judge was partly allowing a batch of about 50 writ petitions from Ivan A Jones and others, who have joined the Post Graduate Medical Course in the MGR Medical University during 2013-14 academic year.
Counsel for petitioners, inter alia, contended that in terms of Regulation of Medical Council of India (MCI), a student, who has obtained a minimum of 40 per cent marks in each theory paper and not less than 50 per cent cumulatively in all four papers for the degree examination and three papers in diploma examination should be declared as passed.
The University has adopted the second evaluation procedure only in respect of the students, who have secured less than 40 per cent marks in each individual answer script, but, had not extended the said benefit to the students, who have failed to secure overall 50 per cent marks cumulatively. Therefore, the university’s approach is discriminatory, they argued.
The judge said that restricting the benefit of second valuation to the candidates who have secured less than 40 per cent marks in a single answer script and denying the same to the candidates, who have failed to secure minimum 50 per cent marks in the aggregate is discriminatory and contrary to MCI Regulation.
The judge pointed out that in cases where the university has done second valuation, the candidates have scored higher marks than what they scored in the first valuation and the difference in the marks between the first and second valuation exceeded more than 30 per cent. This showed that there were serious flaws in the first valuation. For these reasons, the writ petitions are partly allowed and the University is directed to conduct second or third valuation, and send all answer scripts of petitioners, irrespective of whether they have failed to secure minimum pass mark in one paper or failed to secure minimum marks in the aggregate, the judge added.