NADEEM AHMAD vs The PRINCIPAL/CHAIRMAN, Admission Board, King
This matter involves civil petitions for special leave to appeal arising from the cancellation of the petitioners' admission to the First Year M.B.,B.S. Class of the Medical Colleges of the Punjab for the academic year 1981-82. The petitioners were admitted to King Edward Medical College, Lahore, but their admissions were subsequently cancelled by the Principal on the grounds that they had appeared in an intermediate examination in 1979 (Spring) after passing it in 1978, which they allegedly were not eligible to do, and that they had concealed this fact in their admission affidavits by only disclosing examinations taken in 1978 and 1980. The core legal question concerns whether there is any impediment preventing a student from appearing in the intermediate examination again from a different board, and how examinations taken in parts across multiple years should be computed. The Supreme Court converted the petitions into appeals for an early hearing, noting that the issues relating to admission to educational institutions require prompt consideration.
- Whether a student who has passed the Intermediate Examination from one board is eligible to appear in the Intermediate Examination again from a different board?
- How should an Intermediate Examination cleared in parts across different years be treated for the purpose of determining the year of passing?
- Does the failure to mention an intermediate examination attempt taken in parts constitute concealment of material facts warranting the cancellation of admission?
ORDER
' NASIM HASAN SHAH, J.-- This order will govern Civil Petitions for Special Leave to Appeal Nos. 1073 of 1983 and 1074 of 1983, as the questions arising in both the matters are the same.
2. The petitioners in both the matters applied for admission in the First Year M.B.,B.S. Class of the Medical Colleges of the Punjab for the year 1981-82. In the affidavit filed by them, in support of their application, they stated that they had passed the Intermediate Examination in the year 1978 (Annual) from the Sargodha Board and then from the Rawalpindi Board in 1980 (Autumn). The petitioners, accordingly, were admitted to the Kind Edward Medical College, Lahore.
3. The Principal of the said College has, however, by his order dated 30th March, 1983, cancelled the admission of the petitioners on the ground that on verification of the documents it has transpired that the petitioners had, after the passing of the Intermediate Examination from the Sargodha Board in 1978 (Annual), appeared in the Intermediate Examination of the Rawalpindi Board in the year 1979 (Spring) as fresh candidates, although they were not eligible to appear as such and, secondly, in the affidavit, filed by them, alongwith the form of admission they had stated that they had not appeared in any Intermediate Examination from any Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education in Pakistan, except for the Intermediate Examinations taken in the year 1978 (Annual) from the Sargodha Board and the Intermediate Examination taken from the Rawalpindi Board in the year 1980 (Autumn). Thus, they had concealed the fact of having appeared in the Intermediate Examination in the year 1979 (Spring) from the Rawalpindi Board.
4. The contention raised before us is that there was no impediment for the petitioners after having passed the Intermediate Examination in the year 1978 (Annual) from the Sargodha Board to appear in the Intermediate Examination again from the Rawalpindi Board. As for the allegation that the petitioners had concealed the fact that they had appeared in the Intermediate Examination in the year 1979 (Spring) and only mentioned that they had appeared in the Intermediate Examination in the year 1980 (Autumn), it is submitted that the real position was that they had taken the examination in parts; some part of it was cleared in 1979 and the other in 1980. In such a situation, the examination cleared in parts is considered to be one examination and the year of passing the said examination is deemed to be the year when it was finally cleared, namely, 1980 in the case of the petitioners.
5. These questions require consideration.
6. We would convert these petitions into appeals. The matter involving as it does a question of admission to an educational institution deserves to be heard as early as possible.
7. Fix both the appeals on the present record, with liberty to the parties to add any further documents, for hearing on 24th March, 1984 at Rawalpindi.
Cited by 1 case
- MUHAMMAD HUSSAIN vs Mst. RAZIA BIBI and others 1999 MLD 3030