ISLAMABAD: A civil appeal has been filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan challenging a judgement of the medical tribunal Islamabad, which reduced the disciplinary penalty imposed on a doctor over alleged irregularities in a postmortem report.

Ali Jan, son of deceased Khan Mohammad, challenged the tribunal’s decision to replace the permanent cancellation of the doctor’s medical licence with a five-year suspension.

According to the appeal, Khan Mohammad died on Sep 27, 2020, in Sukkur, following what the appellant described as suspicious circumstances. A postmortem examination was conducted by a doctor.

The appellant alleged that the doctor subsequently issued contradictory reports concerning the deceased’s injuries and cause of death.

The appeal stated that the doctor’s initial and final reports contained discrepancies, including an allegedly significant scalp injury. The appellant claimed that despite the injury, the final cause of death was described as “undetermined.”

The erstwhile Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC)’s Disciplinary Committee, after examining the record, had imposed a fine of Rs1 million and permanently cancelled the medical licence of the doctor in the year 2022. However, the doctor challenged the disciplinary action before the medical tribunal.

The tribunal partially allowed his appeal and reduced the punishment to a five-year suspension with the same fine, prompting Mr Jan to approach the Supreme Court.

He alleged that the tribunal failed to properly consider medical evidence, photographs, witness statements, the investigation officer’s deposition and relevant Supreme Court judgements concerning alleged tampering with medical records.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2026