The Supreme Court has directed that MBBS students involved in the dispute over the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) revised passing criteria be allowed to complete their courses and receive degrees, noting that all petitioners had already completed their studies during the pendency of litigation.
A Bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe recorded that in view of the peculiar facts of the case, the admission, conduct and conclusion of the course by the petitioners were to be regularised. The court directed the concerned authorities to issue degrees within three weeks.
The Court further directed the National Medical Commission to instruct the concerned universities to take consequential steps for the issuance of degrees within. However, the Bench clarified that it would still examine the larger legal question involved in the dispute and listed the matter for further hearing on July 28, 2026.
Background of the case
The case arose from confusion surrounding the NMC’s Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) Guidelines issued on August 1, 2023. Under the revised framework, students were required to secure 50% aggregate marks with minimum qualifying marks separately in theory and practicals. However, another clause stated that in subjects having two theory papers, students must secure 50% in aggregate theory marks, creating ambiguity regarding the actual passing standard.
According to the students, several MBBS candidates who had obtained more than 40% in theory and over 60% in practicals were nevertheless declared failed in supplementary examinations conducted in June–July 2023 because universities insisted upon 50% marks in theory papers alone.
To address the confusion, the NMC issued a corrigendum on September 1, 2023, clarifying that in subjects with two theory papers, students would pass if they secured a minimum 40% marks in theory, 60% in practicals and an overall aggregate of 50%. However, a subsequent public notice dated October 3, 2023, stated that the corrigendum would not operate retrospectively.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court later dismissed the students’ challenge to the public notice and held that the corrigendum could not be applied retrospectively. The students then approached the Supreme Court through present Special Leave Petition (SLP).
The Supreme Court earlier granted interim relief to MBBS students and directed that the petitioners be permitted to continue with their ongoing courses, subject to the outcome of the present SLP.
