IBAD-UR-REHMAN LODHI, J.---The petitioner was amongst those applicants, who applied for their admission to M.B.B.S programme in Public Sector Medical and Deftal Institutions of the Punjab for the Session 2013-14 against the seats reserved for Disabled Candidates. In the public notice inviting such applications in addition to other conditions with regard to disabled candidates by means of clause-2(i) under the head of "Procedure for submission of admission forms", it was provided that disabled candidates shall submit a certificate issued by a specialist, working in Government Hospital describing the nature of disability, which shall be verified by a Medical Board. The petitioner was found eligible to sit in the entrance examination held under the control of University of Health Sciences, Punjab.
2. The academic carrier of the petitioner can be summed up as follows:-- Matric 995/1050 F.Sc 944/1100 Entry Test 820/1100 and thus the aggregate percentage of the petitioner came to 81.0762%.
2. By means of list of selected candidates against the seats reserved for disabled candidates for the Session 2013-14, issued on 16-11-2013, the petitioner's name was not included, rather in another list showing the candidates not found eligible for disability seats for the Session 2013-14, the petitioner was shown at Sr. No,12. On probe, it transpired that the petitioner was not found a disabled person in view of the Medical Board constituted by the Chairman Admission Board and thus twenty other candidates were found eligible for admission in the said academic session on the basis of the medical examination conducted by a Board constituted by the Chairman Admission Board. The candidate placed at serial No,1 of the list of successful candidates shown to have obtained aggregate of 88.0260%, whereas, the last one placed at serial No,20 of the said list was shown to have obtained the aggregate of 68.6662%. Keeping in view the aggregate percentage of the petitioner, he should have been placed after serial No,7 in the said list but ignoring his such merit, he was included in the list of the candidates not eligible for disability seats in the said session simply on the stated findings of the Medical Board constituted by the Chairman Admission Board which statedly did not find the petitioner having suffered from any disability.
3. The petitioner provided along with his application form for getting admission in M.B.B.S programme in Public Sector Medical and Dental Institutions of the Punjab for the Session 2013-14, a disability certificate issued on 8-10-2013 by Social Welfare Women Development and Bait ul Maul (Provincial Council for the Rehabilitation of Disabled B Persons) in Government of the Punjab wherein the petitioner was assessed by the Board particularly constituted to adjudge the disability.
Type of disability in the said certificate was shown as "Left Ankylosed Elbow" whereas nature of disability was shown as 'Permanent'.
4. The learned counsel appearing for University of Health Sciences has placed much reliance on the Rules and Regulations for Various Categories of Seats provided in the Prospectus for Government Medical and Dental Institutions of the Punjab for the Session 2013-14. Rule (ii) deals with the seats for disabled-students. The relevant portion of the said rules are re-produced herein below for ready reference:-
(ii) Seats for Disabled Students:
(a) The admission against these seats shall be carried out strictly on merit from amongst the Punjab-domiciled candidates who apply for these seats and who have already appeared in the Entrance Test for the session and passed HSSC/F.Sc. (Pre-Medical) or equivalent examination with a minimum of 60% (660/1100) marks.
(b) The candidates shall have to attach a certificate from a government certified specialist about the nature of his/her disability. Such certificate, however, will only make him/her eligible to apply against the reserved seats.
(c) A Medical Board constituted by the Chairman Admission Board will make final decision about the eligibility of the candidate for admission against the reserved seats.
(d) The Medical Board shall consist of following committees each comprising 3 to 5 experts in the relevant field:
(i) Physical Disability Committee
(ii) Visual Disability Committee
(iii) Hearing Disability Committee
(f) Disability for the purpose of admission to medical and dental institutions is defined as a physical impairment that has a substantial and permanent, adverse effect on candidate's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities and puts him/her at disadvantage as compared to a normal person for acquiring education before entering a medical or dental institution. Here: 'substantial' means neither minor nor trivial 'permanent' means that the effect of the impairment is likely to last for the rest of the person's life 'normal day-to-day activities' include mobility, manual dexterity, speech, hearing, seeing, understanding danger, and memory.
(g) The threshold of disability will be judged by the Medical Board, according to a structured criterion.
Clauses b and c of the above rules are inter-contradictory, for, clause-b provides that the candidate is required to attach a certificate from a government certified specialist about his disability which only makes him 'eligible' to apply against the reserved scat whereas clause-c provides that a Medical Board constituted by the Chairman Admission Board will make the final decision about the 'eligibility' of the candidate for admission against the reserved seats. This duplication of exercise is beyond understanding. Further it is noted with great concern that when applications were invited from the candidates, they were required only to submit a certificate issued by a Specialist working in Government Hospital and the role of Medical Board was restricted through that public notice only to the extent that it shall verify such disability.
Re-assessment of disability or nature thereof has no where been provided as a job within the competence of the Medical Board constituted by the Chairman Admission Board and once the Board in the Government of Punjab has already assessed the type of disability and nature thereof, the same should have considered sufficient compliance of the required criteria. Clause-f of the above reproduced Rules is of much significance in this regard, which provides that a disability for the purpose of admission to Medical Institutions is defined as a physical impairment that has a substantial and permanent adverse effect on candidate's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities and puts him at disadvantage as compared to a normal person for acquiring education before entering a medical institution. The term 'Substantial' with reference to such disability has been explained as neither minor nor trivial whereas term 'permanent' has been explained with reference to such disability as having effect of the impairment likely to last for the rest of the person's life. The term 'normal day-to-day activities' has been defined so as to include the mobility and manual dexterity.
5. It is not disclosed as to what is the final opinion of the Medical Board constituted by the Chairman Admission Board with regard to the permanent disability of the petitioner and how the petitioner as not classified as a disabled person by the said Board ignoring the above quoted rules.
6. The people of Pakistan through their representatives in National Assembly adopted and enacted the Constitution in 1973. Chapter-2 where of sets out the principles of policy and it is the responsibility of each organ and authority of the State and of each person performing functions to act in accordance with the said principles in so far as they relate to the function of the organ or the authority. By means of Article 37(a), it is the duty of the State to promote with special care, the educational and economic interests of backward classes and area, whereas by means of clause-c it is the duty of the State to make technical and professional education generally available and higher education equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. In view of the principle laid down in case of 'Haji Nizam Khan v. Additional District Judge, Layallpur and others' (PLD 1976 Lahore 930), any organ of the State can be directed by an order of the Court to observe the Principles of Policy in their respective spheres of working.
7. A disabled student, brilliant otherwise with a hope in his eyes to have a bright future carrier is entitled to be considered a member of a "backward class" and thus for a special treatment instead of creating hurdles in his way, we must locate the opening of new venues for such a brilliant student who by overcoming his such permanent disability has competed with the normal and able students and obtained a much higher aggregate than that of a number of other students, who were accommodated for such professional education. The petitioner is victim of a colourable exercise on the part of the Admission Board constituted by the Chairman Admission Board and a strange power was exercised by such Board by reassessing his eligibility of being a disabled candidate or otherwise ignoring the one process through which he was already determined by a competent Board as permanent disabled constituted by the Government of Punjab. The Board even failed to assign any reason of its reassessment about the eligibility of the petitioner for admission against the reserved seat.
8. We must inculcate some confidence in our new generation with regard to their future. We must look into our inner sides and to get answer from our conscience as to what is going to be delivered as a legacy to the future of Pakistan, disappointment or a ray of hope. We have seen the uncertainty about his future in the eyes of the petitioner, a representative of our that generation which is going to hold the affairs of Pakistan in the future. We have to convert such uncertainty into a hope and certainty. That cannot be achieved through such hyper technical and bureaucratic obstacles being introduced in our different spheres of life.
9. The petitioner, in our considered view not only on the basis of his permanent disability but also on account of his achieved merit is entitled to be given admission in M.B.B.S. Programme in Public Sector Medical Institutions of the Punjab for the Session 2013-14. As such by allowing this writ petition, we direct the respondents to arrange admission of the petitioner against the seat reserved for disabled student for the Session 2013-14 forthwith. It is further made Clear that by granting admission to the petitioner, those students from Serial Nos.1 to 20 in the list of selected candidates against seats reserved for disabled students who have already admitted in the said programme against seats reserved for disabled students for the Session 2013-14 shall not be disturbed or dislodged.