‘Courts Can’t Override Academic Rules’: HC Rejects MBBS Student’s Plea For Fifth Attempt

Last Updated:October 07, 2025, 19:13 IST

The HC said such relief would run contrary to regulations framed by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the university

The judge noted that the petitioner’s plea did not allege any arbitrariness, procedural irregularity, or violation of rights on the part of the authorities.

Reaffirming judicial restraint in academic matters, the Karnataka High Court (HC) recently dismissed a petition filed by a first-year MBBS student seeking permission to take her Biochemistry exam for a fifth time, holding that such relief would run contrary to regulations framed by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the university.

The bench of Justice R. Devdas, in its order dated September 25, 2025, rejected the plea filed by 24-year-old Nishat R. Kolyal, a student of Dr. Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru.

Kolyal had approached the court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution after being denied permission to appear again for her first-year Biochemistry paper, the only subject she had failed to clear.

Represented by advocate Chandrakanth R. Goulay, the petitioner urged the court to direct authorities, including the Union of India, the NMC, the State of Karnataka, the Directorate of Medical Education, the Karnataka Examinations Authority, and the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), to grant her a “mercy attempt” to appear for both Paper I and II of Biochemistry during the September/October 2025 session.

Kolyal submitted that she had cleared all other papers and needed only one more opportunity to complete her first-year MBBS. Her representations to the authorities, dated June 27 and July 14, 2025, seeking such permission had not been acted upon, prompting her to move the high court.

However, Justice Devdas made it clear that the court could not grant any direction contrary to the binding academic norms laid down by the NMC and RGUHS. The bench observed that the regulations categorically limit the number of permissible attempts to four for each subject in the first-year MBBS course.

“The law is very clear in this regard. No court can pass an order contrary to the regulations and norms prescribed by the university,” the order stated.

The judge noted that the petitioner’s plea did not allege any arbitrariness, procedural irregularity, or violation of rights on the part of the authorities but was purely a request for leniency.

While acknowledging the student’s predicament, Justice Devdas observed that judicial sympathy cannot override statutory mandates.

“When it is clear from the petition that the Regulations of the University as well as the National Medical Council Commission would prescribe only 4 attempts for a student, this Court is not in a position to accede to the prayer made by the petitioner,” he remarked.

Accordingly, the court dismissed the plea.

About the Author

Salil Tiwari

Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr…Read More

Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr… Read More

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