The Peshawar High Court barred the medical colleges from uploading results of the recent Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) on their official websites until the findings of a joint investigation team were received.

A divisional bench comprising Justice Abdul Shakoor and Justice Arshad Ali announced the decision while hearing a set of petitions against the MDCAT results released by the ETEA.

As many as 78 writ petitions have been filed in the high court, seeking cancellation of the medical test exam, conducting test from any other agency than the Educational Testing and Evaluation Authority (ETEA), and a lifetime ban for those who were arrested on the day of the test. They have also sought a judicial inquiry into it.

Students, parents, and civil society members are among the petitioners. They have demanded a re-exam and cancellation of the exam conducted on September 10.

On September 16, the court held its first hearing on the petitions. The PHC had issued a stay order, stopping the Khyber Medical University and ETEA from releasing results of the MDCAT on their official websites until further orders.

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Two days later, the ETEA shared the result summary on X, formerly known as Twitter. As many as 110 candidates had secured 190 or above marks, prompting concerns from other aspirants. They said that last year only two students were able to have such results.

In reaction, the authority removed the results and the answer key.

Hearing

ETEA Executive Director Imtiaz Ayub appeared in court as the court had ordered him to submit a detailed reply to the applications within five days.

Ayub told the court that they were able to arrest people behind the cheating scandal due to the best arrangements.

KP Advocate General Amir informed the court that as many as 219 cases had been registered and further investigation was under way because an organised group was involved under a plan.

He added that they have got the evidence of the involvement of top officials in the cheating scandal and soon “some important” people involved in it would be brought to light.

Decisions related to the MDCAT would be made after the JIT report, Amir added. To this, Justice Ali ordered that they would wait for the provincial government’s decision and the court cannot allow uploading the results of the MDCAT.

The PHC summoned the JIT report on September 27 and barred the authority from releasing the result till the report was received.

An alleged mastermind of the MDCAT scandal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been identified, sources told Aaj News last week.

The suspect has been an employee of the Public Service Commission and the Federal Public Service Commission, they said and alleged that the person took hundreds of thousands of rupees from many students.