The Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University cannot refuse to take one out of two papers in a subject for double valuation, when the aggregate of the marks scored by a medical student in the two papers are considered for deciding the marks scored in that particular subject, the Madras High Court has ruled.
Justice S. Vaidyanathan held so while allowing a writ petition filed by a MBBS student challenging the university’s decision to double valuate only his biochemistry theory paper-I in which he had scored 15 out of 50 marks and not theory paper-II in which he touched 50% by scoring 25 out of 50 marks.
The university counsel had brought it to the notice of the court that the governing council had passed two resolutions — one in 2014 and the other in 2015, for reintroducing double valuation system instead of revaluation of answer scripts if a candidate had scored below the zone of grace marks in a subject.
Then, it was resolved that double valuation should be done in all failed subjects even within the zone of grace marks if a candidate had failed in more than one subject. As per the resolutions, the average of the two valuations or the first evaluation marks, whichever was higher, would be considered as the final marks scored.
In so far as the petitioner’s case was concerned, the judge said the university could have been right in refusing to double valuate one of the two theory papers in biochemistry if it had been following the practice of treating the marks scored in each of those two papers separately without reckoning aggregate marks.
“As long as the aggregate of total marks of two papers are taken into consideration for the purpose of declaring the result of the petitioner, both the theory papers will have to be subjected to double valuation, enabling him to have aggregate of marks in both the papers,” the judge said, and directed the university to subject the theory paper II also to double valuation.
