HYDERABAD, Jan 15: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, on Tuesday sent three identical petitions of students challenging pre-admission tests by the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) to Karachi’s principal seat.

The court passed the order after Masood A. Noorani informed the court that identical petitions were pending before the principal seat and according to a notification dated Feb 19, 1995, the petitions involving admissions in medical colleges are to be heard at the principal seat.

The petitioner’s lawyers also requested the court to send their cases to Karachi and the matters were accordingly referred to the principal seat.

The petitions were filed by more than eight students before the court including the amended petition of Advocate Jhamatmal Jethanand.

The first petition was filed by Saima Noor d/o Dr Noor M. Memon through Advocate Ejaz Ali Hakro.

Four more students filed the petition praying the court to allow them to become petitioners in the main petition and citing the IBA as respondent.

Comments from the chief secretary and secretary, Health, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), and the IBA were not received on Tuesday.

The students claimed that for admissions in 1st year MBBS classes they had applied for admission and appeared in the admissions test of the IBA on Oct 28 and Nov 15.

They said that the respondents should consider results of the SSC and the HSC for admissions and drop the entry test.

They informed the court that in the wake of protest and controversy arising out of the Oct 28 tests the coordinator of the IBA had also resigned from his post.

The petitioners submitted that although the credibility of the entry test had become doubtful yet they had no choice but to appear in the second entry test on Nov 15. Some 5,426 students appeared in the examination but many irregularities came to the fore during this test. The IBA reviewed 31 admission cases and 34 cases of irregularities were detected.

They pointed out that the Sindh government and the secretary health again revoked their decision of holding the third test and validated the result of the second test notwithstanding the fact that 34 cases of irregularities were detected in it.

They stated that the results announced by the boards of education had remained non-controversial and accepted by everyone; therefore, the admissions should be given on the basis of these results.

A representative of LUMHS was in attendance and sought time to file comments.

The students argued that respondent No3 — LUMHS — had announced the results on the merit list on the basis of the result of the 2nd test on which petitioner 1, Saima Noor, had filed objections requesting that the credibility of the result of the pre-entry test was doubtful and there were errors; therefore, the admissions should be allowed on the basis of the results announced by the BISE.

Petitioners No3 to No6 claimed that they were entitled for admissions to first year MBBS for reserve seats of Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, and Sanghar districts.

The students have prayed the court to declare the action of respondents, admitting students of the province on the basis of the second entry test held by the IBA on Nov 15 as illegal and of no legal effect.

They also requested that the respondents be directed to prepare the merit list for admissions to first year MBBS classes 2001-2002 on the basis of the results announced by BISE, Sindh.