Conduct exam for 11 students who had low attendance: SC directs AIIMS Gorakhpur

The Supreme Court has directed AIIMS Gorakhpur to conduct  exam for 11 students who had low attendance due to COVID-19. Students had filed petition in the court.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the All India Institute of Medical Science(AIIMS) Gorakhpur to conduct the examination for 11 first-year students whose attendance was low due to COVID-19.These students had filed petition in the court, seeking its direction to allow them to sit in the first-year examination.

While hearing the petition, the Court directed the AIIMS to conduct exam for 11 petitioners and students of similar status.If students pass the exam, then they should be promoted to the next class, the Court observed.

A bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao said the order should not be taken as an example. The decision was made under exceptional situation due to the corona pandemic. Eleven students of AIIMS Gorakhpur had approached the Court after the institute denied them to sit for the examination due to low attendance.

They had filed the petition under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution seeking appropriate directions to the concerned authorities. During the hearing, the counsel for one of the petitioners argued that his client should be allowed to sit for the examination as he had sufficient attendance, a report says.

In its reply, opposition lawyer said that student had 60 percent attendance before COVID-19 lockdown and he only attended four classes during lockdown. Student replied that as he belonged to remote area, he could attend only four online classes. "if I could attend four online classes, why would I intentionally leave other classes," student was quoted as saying.