Patna: Patna high court on Monday sought replies from additional chief secretary (ACS) of state’s health department and the vice chancellor (VC) of Aryabhatta Knowledge University (AKU) in a case pertaining to impersonation in internal exams by four medicos in Govt Medical College, Bettiah. The court took judicial notice on an FIR lodged against four students of Govt Medical College, Bettiah, on whose behalf four other students of different medical colleges of Bihar, including Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), took the internal exam.The vacation bench of Justice Partha Sarthy, while hearing the writ petition of one Arvind Kumar Mehta, also turned down his interim prayer to permit him to take third-year MBBS examination in Govt Medical College, Bettiah, commencing from June 4. Arvind filed a writ application for setting aside his expulsion from Govt Medical College, Bettiah, as he was accused of bringing another student to write the paper of ENT. The expulsion order was passed by AKU’s vice chancellor on Nov 12 last year.State govt counsel Prashant Pratap informed the court that the FIR was lodged at Jakkanpur police station (case no. 554/ 2024) by the examination controller of AKU, Rajiv Ranjan on Sept 27 last year. The FIR accused four students of Govt Medical College, Bettiah—Brajesh Kumar, Bhawesh Kumar Bhaskar, Ashish Ranjan and Arvind Mehta (writ petitioner)—of bringing Afzal Azad, Awnish Kumar, Vishal Kumar and Abhishek Kumar (from different medical colleges of the state) to write the college’s internal exams.“Such impersonation in a medical examination is not only a crime rather a grave threat for society as a whole, because quality doctors are a fulcrum for safeguarding the life and living system of human beings,” Pratap added. He also informed the court that petitioner has already admitted the fact of impersonation in his show-cause filed before university administration.This matter will be heard again on June 23.