Supreme Court allows foreign returned medical students to clear MBBS final exam in two attempts

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 28

In a major relief to Indian medical students forced to return from Ukraine, China and Philippines due to Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war, the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed them to clear the MBBS final examination in two attempts in accordance with National Medical Council syllabus/guidelines without being enrolled in any medical college in India.

A Bench led by Justice BR Gavai modified the Centre's suggestion of allowing hundreds of such students only one attempt as a one-time measure and disposed of all the petitions of the medical students.

The order came after the Centre submitted a report of an expert committee which said that as a one-time extraordinary measure, penultimate year students should be allowed to take the MBBS final examination.

On behalf of the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said following the top court’s direction a committee was formed by the government over the issue.

Noting that it was not an expert in the medical field, the Bench said it largely accepted the recommendation made by the committee. It said the only recommendation of concern was that the students were to be given only one attempt to clear the MBBS examination and hence modified it.

While hearing petitions filed by medical students who completed seven semesters in their respective foreign universities, and had to return to India on account of the pandemic and completed their undergraduate medical course through online mode, the Bench said it’s passing the order considering the special circumstances.

The panel headed by DGHS recommended the students may be offered a "single chance" to clear the MBBS final, both part-I and part-II (both theory and practical) as per existing NMC syllabus and guidelines without being enrolled in any of the existing Indian Medical Colleges. This recommendation had been modified by the top court to mean two chances.

The panel said that after clearing these two examinations, they would have to complete two year of compulsory rotatory internship, the first year of which will be free and the second year paid as has been decided by NMC for previous cases.

"However, the committee has emphasized that this option be strictly a one-time option and not become a basis for similar decisions in future and shall be applicable for present matter only in view of directions of court in the matter," it had said in its recommendation.

On December 9 last year, the top court had asked the Centre to find out a solution in consultation with the National Medical Council to address this "humane problem.”

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