KARACHI, April 26: A full bench of the Sindh High Court reserved on Monday its judgment on writ petitions moved by 61 expelled students of the Sindh Medical College against cancellation of their admissions.

The petitioners were expelled in March last following an inquiry by the provincial health department and the University of Karachi. The college authorities said the students were given full opportunity to prove their credentials, but they failed to produce the necessary documents, like residence and domicile certificates, mark-sheets and "offer" letters.

A division bench dismissed a set of petitions, declaring that the petitioners having obtained admission through questionable means were not entitled to any relief. The matter required determination of questions of fact, which could not be done in exercise of writ jurisdiction.

On a number of other petitions, another division bench asked the college authorities to reconsider their cases in the light of the fact that they had already put in several years of professional education.

It directed the petitioners to submit the requisite documents and allowed them to appear in the MBBS exam. The bench split on the issue of granting permission to the petitioners to take the viva voce test after disposal of their petitions.

The petitions were referred to a three-member bench to resolve the controversy. The bench, which comprised Justices Shabbir Ahmed, Ghulam Rabbani and Khilji Arif Hussain, asked the petitioners' counsel, Raja Qureshi, and Additional Advocate- General Abbas Ali, to submit concise statements of the points they relied upon and reserved its order.