Z. A. CHANNA , J.-This Constitution petition for the admission of the petitioner to a Medical College in Sind arises in the following circumst--ances. For the academic year 1975-76, 42 seats were reserved in the Liaquat Medical College for male candidates who were residents of Badin District. A merit list of the male candidates from that District was prepared by the College authorities in which the name of the petitioner was shown against Serial No. 45. Subsequently, four of the candidates in that list who were placed higher than the petitioner, were held ineligible for admission on the ground that their permanent residence certificates were cancelled by the Provincial Government.
However, three of these students filed Constitution petitions and obtained admission on the directions of the High Court. Tae fourth seat should thus, according to the merit list have gone to the petitioner but it was given to one Ghulam Kadir under orders claimed to have been passed by the Government. The admission of Ghulam Kadir was found to have been obtained through forgery and hence it was sought to be cancelled by the College Authorities. He in turn filed a Constitution Petition, being Constitution Petition No. 504/76, challenging the cancellation of his admission That petition was ultimately withdrawn on 17-12-76 on the statement of the learned Additional Advocate.
General that a fresh show-cause notice would be issued to Ghulam Kadir and he would be given a proper opportunity of hearing against the proposed cancellation of his admission. However, no such notice was issued to Ghulam Kadir and he apparently continued to attend the classes in the Liaquat Medical College till sometime towards the end of August. 1977, when under our order he was served with such a show-cause and also given an opportunity of appearing before the College Authorities We were informed by the learned Additional Advocate-General on 5-9-1977 that in consequence of the show-cause notice Ghulam Kadir has been disqualified and his admission to the Medical College cancelled on the ground that the Government letter, on the strength of which he had secured admission, was established to be a forgery. In consequence, there was a clear vacant seat in the Liaquat Medical College, to which the petitioner was obviously entitled. We accordingly, by our short order, dated 5-9-1977, allowed the petition and directed that the petitioner be admitted to a Medical College in Sine', and in case there happens to be no vacant seat in a Medical College, the Government should create an additional seat to accommodate the petitioner. We now proceed to give the reasons in support of that order.
2. The learned Additional Advocate-General, while conceding that due to the cancellation of admission of Malik Shafqat Hussain, by reason of the cancellation of his domicile certificate, and of Ghulam Kadir, the petitioner's position on the merit list became improved to 42nd position and ho thus would have become entitled to admission in the Liaquat medical College it admissions for the year 1975-76 were still open or there was a vacant seat in the College for that year, but submitted that since not only the admissions for the academic year 1475-76 but for the year 1976-77 had long since closed, and further as there was no vacant seat in the College meant for the candidates for the year 1975-76, the petitioner had lost his right to admission in a Medical College for the academic year 1975-76, and as he had no right to nor even he had claimed admission for the current year, he could not be admitted against a sat for the current year, even if one Acre vacant.
We find ourselves wholly unable to agree with the submissions of the learned Additional Advocate- General and would like to express our surprise at such a submission. The respondents were required, under the provisions of the prospectus of the Liaquat Medical College, to admit to the College for the academic year 1975-76, 42 candidates, in order of merit, who were permanent residents of Badin District. Since Malik Shafqat Hussain was found by the respondents themselves not to be a permanent resident of Badin District he should never have been granted admission to the College and his admission was rightly refused. Similarly. The admission of Ghulam Kadir to the college was due to the wrong action of respondent No. 2, the Principal of the College, In accepting a forged letter without proper verification, and the cancellation of Ghulam Kadir's admission also would appear to be proper. If the respondents had been vigilant from the very beginning and acted legally, the above two persons would never have got admission in the medical college and the petitioner would have on the other band, been entitled to and obtained admission. The respondents cannot taken advantage of their own wrong action or default in denying admission to the petitioner nor can they, in our opinion, validly take the plea that the petitioner cannot now be admitted as the admissions for the acedemic year 1975-76 are closed and there is no vacant seat for that year. The petitioner had sought admission to the Medical College for the academic year 1975-76 well in time and his name was even placed on the merit list for that year, but because of the wrong action of the respondents his name appeared lower than the number of seats available in the college. Due to the wrong actions by the respondents and their agents, the petitioner has lost more than a full academic year. In our opinion, it will be highly unjust to deprive him even now from admission A to the Medical College, on the plea of the admissions for the year 1975-76 being closed, when he has fully established that he was entitled to admission for that year.
3. The upshot of the above discussion is that we allow this petition and direct that the petitioner be admitted to a Medical College in Sind and in case there is no seat presently vacant in a Medical College, the Government should create an additional seat and accommodate the petitioner.
4. In the special circumstances of the case, there will be no order as to costs.
S. Q.Petition allotted.