Students contest medical license exam condition in LHC

Several MBBS/BDS students have challenged the implementation of a condition of medical licensing examination in the Lahore High Court for review.

A student Sufyan Akhtar and a dozen other students submitted a joint appeal through Advocate Awais Khalid asserting that no condition of National Licencing Examination (NLE) was in place at the time of their admissions to the relevant programmes.

The counsel opposed that the petitioners after qualifying their respective professional examinations (MBBS/BDS) were asked to undergo compulsory house job/internship for the award of full registration.

The counsel said the petitioners cleared their professional examinations and were authorized to full registration/licence in terms of admission regulation of 2018.

However, the counsel acquiesced that the petitioners were posed with the requirement to pass the NLE under section 20 of Pakistan Medical Commission Act, 2020 to attain full licence.

He contended that the reviewing application of the NLE was illegal as petitioners were registered with the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council, now redundant, and the requirement for NLE was not in place during the course period of MBBS/BDS.

“It is an established principle of law that strong conjecture of potential application enclosed to legislature is present which can only be expatriate if text specifically proposes to apply with hindsight or if necessary proposition is clearly spelt out from words of the statute,” contended Advocate Khalid.

He said that the petitioners were due to be awarded degrees in 2020 but due to Covid-19 related disruption examinations were deferred and now the petitioners passed the obligatory examination to be registered as medical practitioners. He said the unexpected obligation of the NLE by retrospective effect was unlawful.

Issuing notices to the federal government, Justice Sajid Mahmood Sethi observed that the arguments made by the petitioners needed attention. The government, University of Health Sciences, PMC and others have been requested to file their para wise comments by July 1.