Lahore Court Rejects Petition Filed Against PMC

LAHORE: Several petitions made against the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) regarding how they held the National Medical & Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) for 2021 have been dismissed by the Lahore High Court.

The MDCAT was conducted daily from 30th August 2021 till 30th September 2021. The petitioners, all of whom were exceptional students, faced mismanagement and complications during the test and hence couldn’t excel.

The students charged the procedure as contrasting section 18 (1) of the Pakistan Medical Commission Act, 2020 and Pakistan Medical Commission Conduct of Examinations Regulations, 2021.

The petitions lawyers argued that in section 18(1), the word “a date” and “single admission test” that were present in their documentation were in singular form and not in plural, i.e. “dates” or “tests”. That meant the PMC was legally bound only to hold a single test on one specific date.

The PMC, on the other hand, questioned the sustainability of these petitions. They further that it was clear that the phrase “single admission test” in section 18 indicated that every student would only be allowed to appear in and sit for one MDCAT in a year.

The PMC counsel also emphasized that section 20 of the Act clearly stated that the examination should be held at least twice a year. The entire argument of the petitioners was flawed; they rebutted.

Justice Jawad Hassan observed that the petitioners had failed to make a case for intervention by the court within the jargon of Article 199 of the Constitution. He noted that the entire process had been published in print and on the PMC website, and that is how the applicants applied for the exam.

He maintained that no legal issue had been found in applying the rules, regulations and the Act during the MDCAT 2021

However, keeping the student’s future in mind, he asked the petitioners to file their grievances before the PMC for review till 29th October. The judge also asked the PMC to decide the reviews strictly in agreement with law within one week from its filing.