The Karnataka High Court has refused to grant relief to a medical student who sought permission to take a fifth attempt at clearing her Biochemistry paper, ruling that doing so would violate existing regulations set by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), as per a report by Medical Dialogues.

The petitioner, Nisha R Kolyay, a student of Dr Ambedkar Medical College and Hospital, approached the court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, requesting that she be allowed a “mercy attempt” to appear for the 1st-year MBBS Biochemistry exam (both Paper I and II) during the September-October 2025 session.

Her plea argued that since only one paper remained for her to pass, the authorities should make an exception and allow her a fifth attempt, despite the existing rule limiting students to four.  

However, the single-judge bench of Justice R Devdas dismissed the petition, reiterating that courts cannot override academic and regulatory norms.

“The law is very clear in this regard. No Court can pass an order contrary to the Regulations and norms prescribed by the University. When it is clear from the petition that the Regulations of the University, as well as the NMC, would prescribe only 4 attempts for a student, this Court is not in a position to accede to the prayer made by the petitioner. Accordingly, the writ petition stands dismissed,” the bench observed.

The Court emphasised that both RGUHS and the NMC explicitly cap the number of attempts at four for MBBS students to clear any subject. Since the petition sought a fifth attempt as a special concession, it could not be entertained under the existing regulatory framework.

The judgment reaffirms that educational institutions and courts must adhere strictly to the standards prescribed by statutory authorities, leaving little room for exceptions, even on compassionate grounds.