Madras High Court permits student with an alleged criminal record to sit for final year medical exam

In a recent decision by the Madras HC bench, an aspiring medical graduate will now be allowed to sit for his final year exam in a private medical college in Chennai. A legal case opinion is pending against the student after he was alleged of causing death of a woman in 2011. The alleged incident happened when he knocked down the woman on a bicycle, leading to her death. The court however, observed that this cannot be an impediment in stopping the student for appearing for his final exam in the third year of his course.

Disposing of a writ petition filed by the student's mother, a doctor practising in Tirunelveli district, Justice M. Venugopal implied that a criminal case has been pending against the student after he was booked in 2011. It was at the instance of Traffic Intelligence Wing in Tirunelveli alleging him of rash and negligence in driving a car. He was reportedly holidaying after having completed his 12^th standard exams.

It was only after this incident he got admission in the MBBS course offered at a private medical college in Chennai. He secured admission in 2011-12. At the time of his admission to the college he had voluntarily shared complete details of the case pending against him in the court. The petitioner (his mother) claimed the fact and in addition, implied that the student continued to continue his studies, until the appointment of a new doctor as the dean of the college.

As reported by Hindu on the facts of the case, the petitioner further revealed that the new dean issued a notice to her son on March 29 this year and directed him to submit all particulars regarding the criminal case along with court orders, if any, exonerating him from the case and warned that failure to produce the documents would lead to preventing him from taking part in the final year examinations and completing the course.

Hence, the petitioner urged the court to quash the notice and consequently direct the dean not to interfere in the studies of her son. She also claimed to have received a legal opinion from the Public Prosecutor of Principal District and Sessions Court in Tirunelveli on April 15 to the effect that legally there was no bar for her son to continue his education.