2001 SCMR 121 (PLP)

HAMID ALI MIRZA, J.

These four civil petitions for leave to appeal are directed against the common judgment dated 30-6-1999 passed by a Division Bench of the High Court of Sindh, Karachi whereby Constitutional Petitions D-657 to 660 or 1999 filed by the petitioners were dismissed in limine. The brief facts of the case are that the petitioners in these four petitions passed their Intermediate (Pre-Medical) Examination from the Board of Intermediate Education, Karachi and obtained their Domicile and Permanent. Residence Certificates from the District Magistrates of different districts of Karachi in September and October, 1998 for the purpose of admission to an educational institution in Sindh. They also obtained Domicile. PRCs from District Magistrates of different districts of the Punjab. The, petitioners applied for their admission in .the First Year M.B.,B.S. Class in Dow Medical College, Karachi on the basis of Domiciles/PRCs obtained from District Magistrates of various districts of Karachi. Simultaneously, they applied for their admission in King Edwards Medical College, Lahore on the basis of the Domiciles/PRCs which they obtained from different Districts of Punjab. The applications for admission in the First Year M.B.,B.S. Class in Dow Medical College were accompanied by the affidavits to the effect that the deponents/petitioners were holders of PRCs issued on the basis from particular districts for admission against merit seats of those districts on the basis of domiciles/PRCs and that they did not hold permanent residence of any other district, and had not applied for admission in any other medical college against merit seats of any other district. On the basis of the above information given in the application forms and documents, the petitioners were allowed to appear in the entrance test. However, on 2-2-1999 the Principal, Dow Medical College, Karachi received a fax message from the Principal, King Edward Medical College, Lahore mentioning the names of the candidates including the petitioners who had passed their Intermediate Examination from the Board of Intermediate Education in Province of Sindh who had applied for admission in the aforesaid medical college, and requested the Principal, Dow Medical College that it be communicated to him whether any of them had applied for admission in Dow Medical College. On receiving such information, the Selection Board of respondent No.2 found the petitioners disqualified and ineligible for admission. The petitioners filed Constitutional petitions before the Sindh High Court, Karachi, seeking declaration that refusal of the respondent to admit the petitioners in DMC, Karachi was mala fide, illegal, discriminatory, without jurisdiction and of no legal consequence and further for a direction to the said respondents by way of an appropriate writ to admit the petitioners in DMC in the academic session for the year 1998-99 with Further declaration that the residence requirement of father of the petitioners in the application forms of the college was illegal. The Division Bench of the Sindh High Court, by a common judgment, dismissed the Constitutional petitions in limine, hence these civil petitions for leave to appeal. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that the respondents have illegally and with a mala fide intention refused admission to the petitioners in the First Year M.B.,B.S. Class for the year 1998-99, thereby violated fundamental rights of the petitioners who possessed the required qualification for admission in the said class and that Rule 7 (h) of the Prospectus for Admission in the First Year M.B.,B.S. Class did not bar admission of the petitioners. He further submitted that the petitioners have been refused admission without showing them show-cause notices, which action was in violation of the settled principle that nobody shall be condemned unheard. We do not find substance in the contentions of the counsel of the petitioners. Admittedly, the petitioners obtained Domiciles/PRCs from various District Magistrates of Karachi and also from the districts of the Punjab. They applied for their admission in the First Year M.B.,B.S. Class for the session 1998-99 in Dow Medical College, Karachi and King Edward Medical College, Lahore. An applicant seeking a seat from a particular district has to establish that he is a permanent resident of that district and for that he has to obtain a certificate in Form ' C' as provided under rule 5 of the Sindh Permanent Residence Certificates Rules, 1971 for the purpose of admission to an educational institution. The domicile of a person is his legal status, one may qualify to be domicile of the different countries under the relevant rules. But so far the permanent residence is concerned, the same would be a question of fact and a person cannot be assumed to be a permanent resident of two different areas. In the instant case the petitioners intended to be admitted in DMC on the basis of the permanent residence certificates of Karachi and in King Edwards Medical College, Lahore on the basis of Domiciles/PRCs of different districts of the Punjab. Rules 7(h) of the Prospectus for admission in M.B.,B.S. class for the session 1998-99 states that any candidate found using Domiciles/PRCs of more than one district shall be disqualified for admission in any medical college in Sindh Province. The petitioners admittedly submitted application forms for admission in DMC, Karachi on the basis of Domiciles/PRCs of Karachi and also submitted application forms for admission in King Edwards Medical College, Lahore on the basis of the Domiciles/PRCs obtained from different districts of the Punjab, which would show that the petitioners used Domiciles/PRCs of more than one district for their admissions in two different medical colleges during the same session of 1998-99, which fact warranted their disqualification for admission under the rules, as such the petitioners were disqualified and ineligible for admission in First Year M.B.,B.S. in DMC, Karachi as per said Rules. This would also show that the petitioners did not approach the Court for discretionary and equitable relief with clean hands. They furnished untrue information to the institution and also suppressed material facts while submitting their admission forms thereby their conduct could not be termed to be above board, disentitling them to the discretionary and equitable relief in the Constitutional jurisdiction of the Court. It will not be out of place to reproduce relevant observation of the High Court:

"In view of the limited seats available in medical colleges set up by the Government admission is highly competitive and to ensure that citizens from all areas have a reasonable chance, the concerned authorities have prescribed rules and policies stipulating that residents of one area should only apply from one Selection Centre, even if he prefers to avail a seat in another college on reciprocal basis itself. Unfortunately the petitioners in their ambition to secure admission by fair or foul means obtained certificates to be able to apply for admission both in Punjab and Sindh. Even if we were to hold that they were for all intents and purposes permanent Residents of Karachi (and prima facie it appears to be so), mere fact that they chose to declare themselves otherwise for securing admission in Punjab is, apart from the specification in the rules, sufficient to disentitle them to claim relief under the equitable jurisdiction conferred upon the Court by Article 199 of the Constitution." Reference may also be made to (1) Manzoor Hussain v. Zulfiqar Ali (1983 SCMR 137), (2) Muhammad Aman and Atta Muhammad (1982 SCMR 270), (3) Raza Khan v. Vice-Chancellor, N.-W.F.P. University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar (1982 SCMR 560), (4) Deen Carpets Limited v. Iqbal Ghuman (PLD 1989 SC 516), (5) Ahmad Khan v. Custodian of Evacuee Property (PLD 1963 (W:P.) Kar. 450 (D.B.), (6) Syed Shah v. Political Agent, Bajaur Agency (PLD 1981 Pesh. 57 (B.B.). In view of the aforesaid reasonings, we do not find substance and merit in these petitions, consequently, leave is refused and petitions are dismissed. Q.M.H./M.A.K./M-171/S Petitions dismissed.