In a relief to 144 medical students, the Madras High Court directed the Directorate of Medical Education to accommodate the students in other medical colleges in the state to fulfil their attendance requirements for taking second-year exams. The order came following a group of petitions filed by the students, whose college was denied recognition by Medical Council of India.

The students had stated that the state government had issued a circular barring them from taking their second-year exams in 2019 since they did not have the required clinical hours.

In his order, justice N Kirubakaran said that the DME must conduct the second-year examinations for these students in August 2019 and allow them to continue their studies and attend third-year classes from April 2019 onwards. The judge also noted that all the 144 students already had 60 to 70 percent attendance, which was close to the mandatory attendance requirement of 75 percent set by the authorities.

This court is of the view to allow the relocated students to continue to attend the second-year classes until March 2019. After classes for third-year commence, the accommodated students will be allowed to merge with the regular students, namely, third-year students and continue their studies from April 2019 onwards, the judge ordered. He added that since the attendance requirement is 75 percent, it should not be a problem to allow the students to take their second-year exams in August 2019. The judge also said that the order was passed taken into consideration the students’ sufferings due to no fault of theirs.

In March 2018, the state government had relocated these students to government medical colleges in the state, after the Medical Council of India (MCI) cancelled the recognition provided to Annaii Medical College and Hospital in Pennalur, Kanchipuram district as the institution did not meet the standards set by the MCI.

Although the students were accommodated in various colleges, the state government did not allow them to sit for exams this year citing lack of attendance.

Justice Kirubakaran had noted that the state government had issued the Essentiality Certificate to the college in 2010 and had cancelled it in 2011 without informing the same to the central government or the medical university. The judge also pointed out that had this fact been informed to the relevant authorities on time, Dr MGR Medical University and Medical Council of India would not have granted approval to the college and this problem could have been avoided.