Medical student goes to court over allegedly cancelled admission

College principal claims she showed a fake domicile certificate to procure reserved seat.

KARACHI: A medical student has taken the principal of Lyari medical college and others to court, accusing them of cancelling her admission.

Sidra Fatima, a first-year student, cited the principal of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical College, Lyari, the provincial health secretary and the deputy commissioner of Malir as respondents.

According to the petitioner, she was given admission to the college after she qualified the entrance test held at NED University on October 7, 2012. Since December 2012, she has been attending classes regularly until February 2, when the principal issued a letter cancelling her admission.

According to the principal, there were 10 seats reserved in the institute for students of Gadap Town but they found out that Fatima’s domicile certificate incorrectly claimed that she was a resident.

The principal accused the deputy commissioner of Malir of issuing a fake domicile. Under the admissions rules Section 6.7 (F), the principal cancelled her admission.

Meanwhile, Fatima’s lawyer, Mehmood Habibullah insisted that his client had qualified for admission purely on merit and did not use any reserved seat. She also possesses a valid domicile issued under the Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951 and a Permanent Residence Certificate issued under the Sindh Permanent Resident Certificate Rules 1971, he added.

He pleaded the court direct the college administration to let her continue her studies.

The bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar, issued notices to the respondents for March 4 and directed the Sindh advocate general to submit their comments by the next date.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2013.