LAHORE: The Lahore High Court allowed a petition of a student Muhammad Usman Farooq and directed the Rawalpindi Medical University to give admission to the petitioner in first year of MBBS sessions 2022-23.

The court observed, ordinarily courts exercise restraint in interfering with the internal governance and affairs of the educational institutions and avoid dislodging decision of the university authorities but this is not a rule of universal application.

In the present case, the petitioner duly qualified the MDCAT and was on open merit list but due to late intimation by the University itself, he was deprived of his fundamental right to education as guaranteed under article 25-A of the Constitution, the court added. The court said a candidate who is selected for admission shall be informed through short message service (SMS)/Email. The petitioner was informed through letter dated March 21, 2023, which was actually dated January 21, 2023 whereby target date was also wrongly mentioned as January 24, 2022, which was actually January 24, 2023. This letter was dispatched on January 25, 2023 and delivered on January 26, 2023, the court added.

The court further said a SMS was though conveyed to the petitioner on January 24, 2023 at 12:58 pm, which was not refuted by the respondents.

It is thus evident without any hint of doubt that the petitioner was informed at the last moment and apparently it was impossible for him to meet with the requirements for the admission.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023