How will you treat patients if scared of exams: Court

Says medical students must appear for exams from August 17

How will you treat Covid patients in hospitals, if you are scared to appear for your final exams, the Bombay High Court questioned medical students seeking a stay on final-year and post-graduate exams. The HC, on Friday, accordingly refused to stay the exams for medical and other non-medical courses and these will be held from August 17.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Surendra Tavade was petitioned by a group of students of various courses, seeking to stay the exams that were to start from August 17. These students argued that appearing for physical exams in the midst of the pandemic would be difficult as there were chances of transmission.

The students further said they would appear for exams only if these were conducted online. Their demand was vehemently opposed by RV Govilkar, appearing for the University of Health Sciences. The counsel apprised the judges of the earnest endeavours made by the university to conduct exams for final year post- and under-graduate students, maintaining the norms of social distancing.

Govilkar further told the bench that the post-graduate students were already working at Covid Care Centres with doctors. "Once they appear for their exams, they would be helpful in assisting the doctors at Covid centres," Govilkar told the bench.

At this, the counsel appearing for the students argued that it would be practically impossible for students to sit for exams due to the rising cases of Covid 19.

Irked by this submission, Chief Justice Datta said, "We fail to understand how will you treat Covid patients by visiting hospitals if you are scared to visit exam halls for writing your exams."

"Let us be clear, we will not stay the exams. We leave it to students, whether they want to sit or not. Students who do not wish to sit for the exams are at liberty. Their fate would be decided subject to the end of these petitions," CJ Datta said.