QAISER RASHID KHAN, J.---Through the instant petition, the petitioner has prayed as under: "It is, therefore, prayed that by accepting this petition: a) a writ of certiorari may be issued to declare the impugned notification dated 7.9.2017 to the extent of petitioner as illegal, unlawful and thus ineffective upon her rights; b) a writ of mandamus may 'be issued to the respondents buy directing them to restore the registration of petitioner with KMU and she may also be allowed to complete her medical education in Pakistan."
2. Brief resume of facts leading to the instant petition is that the petitioner' joined Jinnah Medical College, Peshawar as a 1st year MBBS student in the year 2008-09 and appeared in the Ist Professional Part-I Examination and cleared all the subjects by availing four chances except the paper of Anatomy and accordingly, she was refused to either avail the 5th chance, or to sit in the 2nd professional Part-I classes which action on the part of respondents, prompted the petitioner to file a declaratory suit along with an application for interim injunction for allowing the petitioner to avail the fifth chance to clear the failed subject of Anatomy; that the petitioner was conditionally allowed to appear in fifth chance on 3.11.2012 . However, barely a week after i.e. on 13.11.2012, her suit was dismissed in default. On the basis of interim relief, she not only cleared the failed paper of Anatomy in the fifth chance but kept on appearing in the subsequent professional examinations, i.e. 2nd professional, third professional and fourth professional examinations and cleared all the papers of said professionals and resultantly was promoted to final professional MBBS examination.
However, when she submitted her examination forms for the final professional exam, she was informed by the treasury to deposit certain amounts which compelled her to again knock at the doors of the civil court and this time too, she got an interim relief and appeared in the final examination but could not clear the subjects when she received a notification dated 7.9.2017 whereby her registration with the KMU (Khyber Medical University) as a MBBS student stood cancelled and as such was debarred to continue with her medical education in Pakistan. Hence, the instant petition.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner contended that it is a hardship case as the petitioner has reached the zenith of her medical education and as such cancellation of her registration at this crucial stage is unjust and highly unreasonable, warranting interference of this court especially in view of the ground realities faced by the petitioner.
4. On the contrary, the learned counsel for the respondents strongly opposed the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner and contented that in the light of the PMDC rules as well as the dicta of the august apex court, the petitioner is not entitled to fifth chance and as such the cancellation of the registration of the petitioner by the respondents through the impugned Notification is legally clothed and in there circumstances no exception can be taken to the same.
He also contended that the very suit of the petitioner which formed basis of her studies was dismissed on 13.11.2012 in respect of which the petitioner has moved an application for the restoration of the same on 18.2.2018. The learned counsel readily produced copies of the order dated 13.11.2012 of the learned trial court as well as her application for restoration filed before the learned trial court on 16.2.2018 which are placed on file as marked "A" and "B".
5. Arguments heard and the available record perused.
6. Admittedly, the petitioner could not clear all the subjects of 1st Professional Part-I MBBS Examination in four chances as permissible to her under the PMDC rules and when she was debarred to sit in the 2nd Professional Part-I examination owing to her failure to clear Part-I of 1st Professional, she filed a declaratory suit, as mentioned above, and got temporary injunction to avail the fifth chance. As narrated in the preceding paras, her earlier suit was dismissed in default on 13.11.2012 but she did not file any application for its restoration while the respondents too, did not pursue the matter and the petitioner taking benefit of respondents' ignorance qua dismissal of her suit, continued with her studies till issuance of the impugned Notification. However, after filing the instant petition on 06.12.2017, the petitioner also approached the trial court by filing an application on 16.2.2018 for restoration of the earlier suit dismissed in default on 13.11.2012 which is pending adjudication. This was the back ground of the chequered history of the petitioner's studies at KMU as well as her litigation.
7. Now coming to the legal position of the matter. Regulation No. 3(t) of The Khyber Medical University Examinations Regulations, 2008 deals with the subject which runs as under:- "3. Eligibility to appearing in the University: A student shall be eligible to appear in a Professional examination if he / she fulfils the following conditions: (a). to (e)..xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (f). Any student who fails to clear the 1st Professional MBBS Part-I examination in FOUR chances availed or un-availed after becoming eligible for the examination shall cease to become eligible for further medical education in Pakistan.
To this effect, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council of Pakistan also framed regulations called as MBBS and BDS (Admissions, House Job and Internship) Regulations, 2016, Regulation No.11 whereof deals with the subject matter which runs as under:- "11. Re-admission of students:---Any student who fails to clear First or second professional examination in four consecutive chances availed or un-availed and has been expelled on that account shall not be eligible for continuation of medical and dental studies of the MBBS and BOS in the subsequent Professional examinations."
8. Similarly, Regulation 4(ii) of PMDC regulations also deals with the subject as under:-- "4(ii). Any student who fails to clear First Professional MBBS examination in 4 chances availed or unavailed shall cease to be eligible to be eligible for further Medical/Dental Education in Pakistan."
9. In view of the above discussion, it becomes crystal clear that after exhaustion of four chances to clear the 1st professional Part-1 MBBS Examination, the petitioner was not eligible to appear in the fifth chance and as such her registration with the Khyber Medical University was rightly cancelled by the respondents and was debarred to continue with further medical education in Pakistan. We are fortified in our view by the dicta laid down by the august Supreme Court in 1996 SCM R 1101 (Maroof Khan v. Principal Ayub Medical College, Abbott abad and 2006 SCM R 1076 (Eyed Mufeed Shah and another v. Principal Khyber Medical College, Peshawar and others).
10. In view of the above stated position, we understand that the request of the petitioner through the present petition, cannot be acceded to, hence the instant petition being meritless stands dismissed.