ISLAMABAD   -  The Supreme Court of Pakistan Thursday ruled that MDCAT is a mandatory requirement for all students seeking admissions to medical and dental undergraduate programmes anywhere in Pakistan.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar dismissed the petitions and maintained the verdict of division bench of the Lahore High Court dated 26.01.2021 in this matter.

Justice Mansoor who authored the verdict said that regulations, being subordinate to the Act, cannot dilute or dispense with the statutory requirement provided under the Act. He added that Regulations 13 and 14, therefore, in no manner authorise the private colleges to dispense with the requirement of MDCAT or are inconsistent with section 18 of the Act.

“The criteria, as well as, other entrance tests devised by private colleges are in addition to MDCAT, which is the basic minimum statutory requirement for admissions to any medical college in Pakistan, be it private or public,” said the judgment.

It added, “In the light of the above, we see no reason to take a view different from the one taken by the High Court in the impugned judgment and in the judgment of the learned single judge. These petitions are, therefore, dismissed and leave refused.”

The petitioners are newly enrolled students in the medical and dental undergraduate program for the academic year 2021 at a private medical college and their admissions were subsequently cancelled due to their failure to pass the “medical and dental colleges admissions test” (MDCAT).

They challenged the pre-admission requirement of MDCAT introduced through section 18 of the Pakistan Medical Commission Act, 2020 (Act) on the ground that it is violative of Regulations No.13 and 14 of the Admission Regulations (Amended) 2020-2021 (“Regulations”) in as much as the admissions to a private medical college is governed by the respective prospectus of the medical college, which in this case, did not require the petitioners to take MDCAT.

The counsel for the petitioners explaining their ground of challenge submitted that the prospectus issued by respondent No.1 (private medical college), did not provide for MDCAT, but instead, set out their own admission criteria, which the petitioners have successfully met and were thereafter granted admission. He also said that they cannot be subjected to the requirement of MDCAT which falls outside the prospectus.

The counsel for the respondent on the other hand supported the impugned judgment and submitted that statutory requirement of MDCAT under the Act is a mandatory requirement and even the Regulations do not dispense with the said requirement.

Also, the Supreme Court of Pakistan Thursday directed the Registrar Sindh High Court (SHC) to submit the details of appointments in the provincial courts.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial conducted hearing of a petition regarding appointment of judges in the Sindh High Court (SHC) and as civil and additional district judges in the lower judiciary of the province.

During the hearing, Registrar Sindh High Court Abdul Razzaq Samu appeared before the apex court. Justice Bandial asked from him that why did the district judiciary of Karachi have to recruit from other districts? He added that was there no one in Karachi?

The judge also asked that the impression was that some of the recruitments in the province’s lower judiciary were based on kinship. The SHC registrar prayed that recruitment required the approval of the provincial chief justice. Justice Ijazul Ahsan added that the recruitment process in the judiciary should be transparent and fair.  

Petitioner’s counsel Shamsul Islam said that test papers for recruitment of civil judges were leaked in some districts of Sindh.  

Later, the bench deferred the hearing in the case for a week for further proceedings.

The Registrar SHC is ordered to submit a report containing information how many persons were recruited since 2017 and on whose orders. He should also inform that under which law the recruitments were made.  

Previously, the bench noted that according to the petitioner, six persons who were appointed as court clerks were the relatives of Zulfiqar Sheikh, who had contacts with the policy makers of the province. The bench further noted that the petition also said that former registrar Sindh High Court Ghulam Rasool Sammu appointed many persons against the merit and in disregard of the age limit.

Ghulam Sarwar Qureshi has filed the petition through advocate Khawaja Shamsul Islam under Article 184(3) of Constitution. He has requested the apex court to declare the appointment of judges and other staff in the SHC as well as civil and additional district judges in the subordinate judiciary from 2017 till date as illegal, mala fide, unlawful, ultra vires, unconstitutional and null and void, having no legal effect. Chief Justice and Registrar Sindh High Court and the provincial law ministry & the federal government have been made respondents.

The petitioner requested the Supreme Court to order for the constitution of an investigation commission consisting of senior judges of the apex court as well as the senior-most judges of the SHC to scrutinise the record of appointments made in the high court and the district judiciary of Sindh since 2017.

The petitioner believed that all such appointments were made in flagrant violations of the rules and regulations applicable in such employment. The petitioner believes all such recruitments since 2017 were made in violation of rules.

The Supreme Court should also order the SHC registrar as well as the Sindh law ministry to produce the entire record of the appointments made in the high court and the lower judiciary from 2017 till date, the petitioner argued.

Similarly, it said, the apex court should also order the registrar and chief justice of the SHC and the provincial law ministry to de-notify the appointments made in the high court and the lower judiciary after 2017 and direct initiation of an inquiry against the respondents and all judges of Sindh since their appointments were made in violation of the relevant rules and regulations.

The apex court also pleaded to issue a restraining order against the respondents from making any further appointments in the SHC as well as in the district courts till a decision on the petition.

The petition is reminiscent of a Sept 26, 2016 Supreme Court verdict in which all recruitments, appointments, deputation, absorption and reappointments in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) from 2011 to the end of 2012 were de-notified.