ISLAMABAD: The medical tribunal, constituted under the Medical Tribunal Act 2020, has dismissed an appeal in an alleged medical negligence case, reaffirming the principles of finality in litigation, limitation and the prohibition against multiplicity of proceedings.
In a detailed judgement authored by its Chairman retired Justice Safdar Saleem Shahid, and announced by the full bench, the tribunal upheld the decision of the Disciplinary Committee of the Pakistan Medical Commission (now Pakistan Medical and Dental Council), maintaining the validity of its communication dated June 24, 2022.
The appeal arose from a complaint alleging medical negligence and professional misconduct against an orthopedic surgeon at a private healthcare facility in Lahore, in relation to shoulder surgeries conducted in 2018 and 2019. The appellant sought re-examination of the matter, including the constitution of a foreign medical board and initiation of criminal proceedings, after the Disciplinary Committee of PMDC exonerated the surgeon of any professional negligence conducted during the performance of surgeries.
The judgement noted that while approaching the tribunal in an appeal against Disciplinary Committee, the appellant had already instigated multiple proceedings before various forums, including The Punjab Healthcare Commission, civil courts in Lahore and The Lahore High Court.
The tribunal based its judgement on the doctrine of estoppel and prior conduct of the appellant who, in earlier proceedings, explicitly refrained from attributing negligence to the respondent doctor and had, in fact, acknowledged corrective treatment. Consequently, the appellant was barred from reversing that position at a later stage. The tribunal noted that a litigant cannot “approbate and reprobate.”
The tribunal stated that the complaint was time-barred. It relied on the findings of the Lahore High Court in the same case, which had already ruled that the cause of action arose in 2018–2019 and that subsequent complaints were filed beyond the statutory limitation period. The tribunal thus underscored that limitation is not merely procedural but goes to the root of jurisdiction.
Noticing the multiplicity of proceedings and forum shopping, the judgement deprecated the filing of parallel and successive proceedings across multiple forums on the same cause of action. The tribunal observed that such conduct constitutes abuse of process and undermines judicial discipline. It concluded that no illegality or jurisdictional error existed in the impugned decision by disciplinary committee of PMDC. As the matter had already attained finality, the appeal was devoid of merit and accordingly dismissed.
Dr Minhajus Siraj, Member (Technical) Medical Tribunal, while talking to Dawn emphasised that the current ruling reinforced several important legal principles; finality of judicial and quasi-judicial decisions, strict application of limitation laws, prohibition of forum shopping and respect for jurisdictional boundaries of statutory tribunals.
“The judgement serves as a guiding precedent for litigants and practitioners in healthcare regulatory matters, emphasising procedural discipline and responsible use of legal remedies,” he said. Dr Minhaj added that according to Section 9 of Medical Tribunal Act, 2022, any person aggrieved by any final order in suit, in appeal or against any sentence passed by the tribunal may, within 30 days of communication of such order or sentence, prefer an appeal to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2026
