Scholar drags varsity to court for denying her gold medal

Top scorer says suffering discrimination for being implicated in false murder case

HYDERABAD:

Denial of decorating a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) scholar with the gold medal has landed the Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, in litigation before a bench of the Sindh High Court. The Hyderabad Circuit Bench on Tuesday barred the university from awarding gold medal to any candidate of the Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences at its upcoming 13th annual convocation till the next date of hearing.

The petitioner Tamseel Saleem Arain pleaded before the court through advocate Muhammad Soulat Rizvi that she is being discriminated against on the pretext of alleged delay in completing the degree. According to her, a scholar is supposed to complete the degree within a maximum of four years or eight regular semesters but her completion period fell well within the stipulated time even though her research was impeded by her imprisonment on judicial remand.

The lawyer apprised the court that the scholar was booked in a murder FIR of her cousin, lodged on April 15, 2022, in Tando Allahyar district. She was later sent to jail on a judicial remand. The trial court, however, acquitted her from the case, which originated due to a family dispute among their elders, on July 11, 2023.

After her release from the prison she took the written test exam for MPhil and the result announced on December 21, 2023, declared her pass. The petitioner claimed that in view of her highest marks she expected to be awarded a gold medal but the academic council's meeting on January 28, 2025, shortlisted three names from her department while excluding Arain. According to her, all those three scholars have secured marks, percentage and CGPA which are below her scores.

Against 425 marks (88.46%) and 3.96 CGPA of the petitioner, the three scholars selected for the medals secured 424 marks (88.29%), 415 marks (86.38%) and 381 marks (79.38%). "I have been denied the medal because I couldn't pass the exam in two years."

She submitted a request to the chairman academic council to review their decision but to no avail. A personal hearing into her grievances was conducted on April 10, 2025, but its outcome has not been conveyed to the petitioner, she claimed.

The scholar prayed the court to order the varsity to acknowledge that the petitioner should be preferred for the top slot in view of her marks, percentage and CGPA. She urged the court to order the university not to debar her for the gold medal only for the reason of the purported delay which was caused by her extended judicial remand. The SHC has put the respondents including the Sindh government, SAU's Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Controller Examinations and the academic council as well as the Higher Education Commission on notice.