' Daud Chaudhry has filed this petition under Article 9 of the Provisional Constitution Order (No. 1 of 1981) for issuance of writ of mandamus directing the Admission Board for admission to Medical Colleges through its Chairman/Principal, K. E. Medical College, Lahore, to admit him to a Medical College.
2. The Health Degartment of the Punjab by a notice published in newspapers invited applications for admission to First Year M. B. B. S. Course in the Medical Colleges of the Punjab for the academic year 1982-83.
The applications alongwith attested copies of certain documents were to be submitted to the Principal, K. E. Medical College, Lahore, for male candidates and to the Principal, Fatima Jinnah Medical College, Lahore, for female candidates by 28th February, 1983. The admission was to be regulated by the Prospectus of the Government Medical Colleges in the Punjab for the Session 1980-81 and onwards issued by the Health Department of the Punjab Government. According to the Prospectus, only those candidates could apply who had passed the Intermediate Science Examination taking pre-medical group of a Board of Secondary Education, Punjab, or an equivalent examination of some other University or a Body as recognized by the University of the Punjab.
3. The petitioner had passed his High School Examination from the Warren Central High School, Indianapolis, Indiana, U. S. A. According to the petitioner, the High School Certificate of this Institution is equivalent to F. Sc. Of Punjab, He also, therefore, applied for his admission in the Medical College before the stipulated date. However, his application was rejected without any reason. He sought an interview with the Board when he was informed that since he had not studied Biology he was not eligible for admission to the Medical College.
4. Meanwhile, he had applied to the University of the Punjab for issuing him an Equivalency Certificate as envisaged by paragraph 23 of the Prospectus. The University of the Punjab ride letter, dated 30-4-1983 (Annexure 'C') intimated the petitioner that 12 years Diploma Examination from the Warren Central High School, Indiana. U. S. A., was equivalent to Intermediate Examination and since he had studied Physics, Chemistry and Biology along-with other subjects, he was eligible for admission to M. B., B S. First Year Class. This letter was delivered to the respondent but despite the same he was refused admission.
5. The petitioner has assailed the validity of the decision of the respondent on the grounds that it is without lawful authority, it violates, the principles of natural justice as he was not given an opportunity of hearing and it is arbitrary, capricious, mala fide and in excess of authority.
6. A report was called for from the respondent. He stated that the petitioner did not submit alongwith his application Domicile Certificate and also letter of eligibility from the University of the Punjab being foreign qualified. He was, therefore, directed to furnish these documents. He supplied the letter of eligibility on 30-4-1983. His application was considered by the Admission Board and it was found that he did not qualify to compete for admission among the candidates falling under clause (a) of paragraph 21 of the Prospectus as he had not completed the full subject of Biology in Grade-12, rather he had completed the subject at University level. Since he had not studied the subject of Biology at the Senior High School level and had studied it only in Grade-9 and Zoology only in Grade-12, he was not considered alongwith the candidate possessing F. Sc. Qualification. It was added that although he had studied the subject of Biology at University level, it would not help him as he was competing for admission in category 'A' which was meant for F. Sc. Students holding Grades 'A' and 'B' and in this category he had not studied Biology asrequired in F. Sc. Examination. In this connection paragraph 21 of the Prospectus was relied upon.
7. As regards the Domicile Certificate, the respondent pleaded that the petitioner had submitted the same on 5-6-1983 after the Admission Board had finalized selection. It was also contended that the Domicile Certificate had been obtained from Lahore district, whereas he in his application had mentioned Sheikhupura as his home district.
8. Paragraphs 21 and 23 of the Prospectus, referred to above, which are pertinent for the disposal of the instant writ petition, are reproduced below for the sake of facility :- "21. Selection acd admission will be made strictly on the basis of merit of F. Sc/B. Sc.
The criteria for admission shall be in the following orders :
(a) F. Sc. (Pre-Medical Group) External A & B Grades 600 Marks or above.
(b) B. Sc. (with F. Sc. Pre-Medical Group) 1st Division.
(c) B. Sc. (Pre-Medical Group) (External C & D Grades) 450 Marks or above.
(d) F. Sc. (with F. Sc. Pre-Medical Group) 2nd Division.
23. Candidates belonging to Punjab Province who possess qualifications equal to intermediate (Pre-Medical) in the subjects of Physics, Chemistry and Biology can apply for admission. They will be considered as under :-
(1) Only those qualifications which have been declared equivalent to F. Sc. (Pre-Medical) by the relevant University for admission to the medical colleges of Punjab be considered by the Admission Board.
(2) The certificates of candidates which show the percentage of marks obtained in Chemistry, Physics and Biology should be considered as such and if the candidates have passed Language Examination of F. Sc. (Pre-Medical) level, then two languages marks will be added as it is done in F.
Sc. (Pre-Medical) candidates of Punjab Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education.
(iii) The certificates of candidates which indicate only grades will be awarded marks as under :- "Grade A 80 Grade B 70 Grade C 60 Grade D 50 Grade E 40"
9. According to the above two paragraphs, only those candidates are eligible for admission to the Medical Colleges who possess the' qualification of F. Sc./B. Sc. Or such qualification which has been declared equivalent to F. Sc. (Pre-Medical) by the relevant University for admission to the Medical Colleges of Punjab. In order to fulfil the requirement as prescribed in paragraph 23 (1) above, the petitioner, on 11-9-1981 applied to the University of the Punjab for a certificate known as Equivalency Certificate. The University of the Punjab on 30-4-1983 issued the requisite certificate, a copy of which is at Annexure 'C'. It is addressed to the petitioner. It runs as follows :- "University of the Punjab, Senate Hall, Lahore-1, Telephone: (Off. 54428).
' No. D/639/EC Dated 30-4-1983.
' Mr. Daud Chaudhry, ' 1521-N, German Church Road, Indianapolis, Indiana 46229. U S. A ' Subject : EQUIVALENCY ' Dear Sir, ' Please refer to your letter, dated 11th September, 1981 on the subject noted above.
' It is to inform you that 12 years Diploma Examination from Warren Central High School, Indiana, U.
S. A. Is equivalent to Intermediate Examination and as you have studied Physics, Chemistry and Biology, alongwith other subjects, you are eligible for admission to M. B., B. S. 1st Year Class.
Yours faithfully, (Sd.) Masood Ahmad Siddiqi, Assistant Registrar (General), for Registrar."
' After the issuance of the above Equivalency Certificate by the University, the requirement of paragraph 23(1) above stood complied with. However, the respondent did not accept the certificate on the objection that "the petitioner had not completed the full subject of Biology in Grade-12, he had rather completed this subject at University level. Since the petitioner has not studied the subject of Biology at the Senior High School level and has only studied in Grade-9 and Zoology only in Grade-I2 thus he was not considered with the candidates of F. Sc. Qualification.
Although the petitioner has studied the subject of Biology at University level but that would not help him as he was competing for admission in Category (a) which is meant for F. Sc. Students holding Grades A and B and in this category he has not studied Biology as required under F. Sc."
10. In order to meet with the above objection, the petitioner obtained a certificate on 10-5-1983 from the Warren Central High School, Indiana, U. S. A. (Annex ure 'D'). This certificate is to the following effect May 10, 1983.
"To Whom It May Concern : ' Warren Central High School is a Special First Class Secondary School composed of Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12-A four-year high school. This school requires eighteen units or thirty-six credits for graduation.
' Please refer to our enclosed Guidance Pathfinder for course descriptions, especially Biology 1 and
2. Biology may be taken during any of the four years of high school. On page 42 of the Guidance Pathfinder you will find the course descriptions of all of the science courses.
' As an advanced student, Daud Chaudhry took the Biology 1 and 2 course during Grade-9. He also enrolled and satisfactorily succeeded in advanced Zoology and Physiology during his twelveth year. Sincerely, (Sd.) J. Clifford Gates Assistant Principal."
' The above certificate was further elaborated and augmented by another certificate (Arinexure 'D/1') issued by the Professor in Biology, Biology Department, Indiana Central University, Indianapolis, Indiana. Its relevant portion is as under :- "Mr. Daud Chaudhry has successfully passed Biology 120 (Principles of Biology), and Biology 121 (Laboratory Experiments in Biology) this passed Winter Semester 1982. The two Biology Courses offered at Indiana Central University were designed, and taught as the basic college Biology courses geared for pre-professional students (Pre-Dentistry, Pre-Medicine, Pre-Physical Therapy, and Biology majors)."
12. In the presence of the Equivalency Certificate issued by the University of the Punjab and the two certificates issued by the Warren Central High School, Indiana, U. S. A., and the Professor in Biology of the Indian Central University, there was nothing left to hold that the petitioner did no possess a qualification equivalent to F. Sc. (Pre-Medical) of the Province of Punjab. Moreover, the Equivalency Certificate was binding on the respondent and the Prospectus regulating admission to the Medical Colleges in the Punjab did not vest the Admission Board with a discretion to ignore it. In case the Board entertained any doubt about the efficacy of the certificate, the proper course for it was to refer the matter to the University of the Punjab for reconsideration and revocation thereof, if so warranted. Such an action was admittedly not taken.
13. The petitioner is seeking his admission on general merit. According to the Award Statement (Annexure 'B'), the petitioner had obtained more than 80% marks in Grade-I0, Grade-11 and Grade- 12 in his school in Indiana.
14. The other objection raised by the respondent pertains to the Domicile certificate rurnisned by the petitioner. The grounds for the objection are two-fold ; firstly, that it was submitted after the Admission Board had completed the selection and, secondly, that the Domicile Certificate was of Lahore District, whereas the petitioner in his application had claimed Sheikhupura as his home district. As regards the late submission of the Domicile Certificate, the learned counsel for the respondent has not pressed that the delay ipso facto disentitled the petitioner to admission to the Medical College, if he was otherwise eligible for it, especially when as pointed out by the learned counsel for the petitioner the admission of the candidates continued till August, 1983. In this connection, reliance is placed on a letter, dated 7-8.1983 (copy at Annexure 'R') from the Principal, K. E. Medical College, Lahore, intimating the Principal, Rawalpindi Medical College, Rawalpindi, the names of the candidates who had been selected for admission to First Year M. B., B. S. Class of his college during the Session 1982-83. The learned counsel has, however, pressed into service the objection that the Domicile Certificate having been obtained from Lahore District, is dubious in view of the fact that the petitioner has mentioned Sheikhupura as his horn district in his application form. Even this objection does not carry substance. The- petitioner having been born in Pakistan and having gone to the Unite States of America on a passport issued by this country, which facts are no controverted, is essentially a domicile of Pakistan by birth as explained in c Muhammad Yar Khan v. Deputy Commissioner-cum-Political Agent Loralai and another (1). The candidates in this case were required to supply Domicile Certificates merely to show their residence in Punjab. As quoted in Mb Annul Naseer Sami v. Secretary, Health, Government of Baluchistan an others (2), the residence must answer a qualitative as well as a quantitative test, and that the Courts have regarded naturalization, purchase of house o burial ground, exercise of political rights, financial expectations, establishment of children in business, the place where a man's wife and family reside as indecia of his intentions in regard to residence. In the instant case, although the ancestral place of the family of the petitioner is Sheikhupura District, yet his father shifted to Lahore for his service before partition. In the year 1961, the father of the petitioner was the Head Master!Principal of Don Bosco High School, Lahore. The petitioner was born in Lahore in the year 1963 and studied in this school from 20-4-1970 to 29-2-1972. These facts are sworn in an affidavit filed by the mother of the petitioner. It has been held in Mst. Parveen v. Mst. Jamsheda Begum and another (3), that a person can be ordinary resident of more than one place, may be in different context or for different purpose. Therefore, the fact that the petitioner has mentioned in his application Sheikhupura as home district does not invalidate his Domicile Certificate obtained from Lahore District.
15. In view of the above discussion, it is manifest that the petitioner possesses requisite qualification for admission to the First Year M. B., B. S. Class and the rejection of his application by the respondent is erroneous and illegal.
16. In the result, this petition is allowed, the impugned decision of the respondent is set aside and the respondent is directed to reconsider the case of the petitioner on merit in the light of the observations made above. There shall, however, be no order as to costs.
(1) 1980 SCM R 456 (2) 1975 SCM R 265
(3) PLD 1983 SC 227