CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF INTERMEDIATE & SECONDARY EDUCATION, BALOCHISTAN, QUETTA and 2 others vs MALEHA EJAZ and another

This matter originated from a Constitutional Petition filed by respondent No. 1, Maleha Ejaz, before the High Court of Balochistan, challenging the refusal of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Balochistan, to allow her to appear in the S.S.C. Board Examination of 1994. The High Court, exercising jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, directed the petitioners to permit the respondent to appear for the examination as a science student. The petitioners challenged this direction before the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The core legal question before the Supreme Court was whether the High Court's order was legally valid, specifically considering that the High Court had issued its directive without addressing the mandatory requirement stipulated in Rule 2(4) of the Secondary School Examination Rules, which mandates a minimum of 75% attendance in each subject for a student to be eligible for the examination. The Supreme Court granted leave to appeal to determine if the High Court's failure to consider this specific regulatory attendance requirement rendered the impugned order legally unsustainable.