KARACHI, April 19: A full bench of the Sindh High Court asked the two sides in the expelled Sindh Medical College students' case to submit concise statements pertaining to the admission of the petitioner students before April 26, the next date of hearing.

The students were expelled as their admissions were found to be initially void by the provincial health department and the University of Karachi. According to their petitions, however, they were bona fide students and were so treated by the college for a number of years until many of them reached the final year.

The final year students took the written exam under a court order but were not allowed to take the viva voce test. The full bench, comprising Justice Shabbir Ahmed, Ghulam Rabbani and Khilji Arif Hussain, has been constituted to resolve the conflict arising from divergent judgments rendered by two division benches.

One of the bench dismissed a number of petitions as the petitioners, having obtained admissions fraudulently and on the basis of bogus documents, were not entitled to any relief.

The other bench, which subsequently split over the question of allowing some other petitioners to take the viva voce after final disposal of their petitions, granted partial relief subject to the students' submitting their documents for fresh scrutiny by the college authorities and their being found in order.

Advocate Raja Qureshi and other counsel for the petitioners were asked to mention in their statements the marks in FSc (pre- medical) secured by their clients, the result of entry test, if any, and the date of admission and deposit of fee.

Additional Advocate-General Abbas Ali was asked to specify the total number of seats available in the Dow Medical College and the SMC in the 1997-98 session and the number of students admitted that year. He was also told to give such details as the last date for depositing fee and the marks obtained by the last student admitted on merit.

Earlier, Advocate Raja Qureshi submitted that it was too late for the college authorities to turn around and declare the petitioners' admission "fraudulent". They had in the, meanwhile, acquired "intellectual property", which they could not be deprived of.

ABDUCTED GIRL: Justice Ghulam Rabbani of Sindh High Court on Monday directed the police inspector of Quaidabad police station Karachi to furnish progress report within three weeks in respect of recovery of a girl, Ms Pathani, who is missing since February 2003.