The Peshawar High Court has ordered the authorities to hold the Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) again in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within six weeks as it upheld the provincial cabinet to re-conduct the exam.

“Direct the council to notify to the provincial government after consulting the admitting university as well as the provincial government a date for the MDCAT across the province within the time period of six weeks,” the court said in its order on Tuesday. It was authored by a divisional bench comprising Justice Abdul Shakoor and Justice Arshad Ali.

The high court disposed of all the writ petitions.

As many as 88 writ petitions were 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 had also sought a judicial inquiry into it.

Last month, the KP cabinet decided to re-conduct MDCAT following allegations of massive cheating in the previous exam held on September 10. The decision was not welcomed by the successful applicants.

The cabinet submitted its reply to the court on September 28.

The Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency (ETEA) last week decided to produce exam sheets of at least 134 ‘doubtful’ candidates of the MDCAT in court.

The high court reserved its decision on October 3.

The order said that under the facts and circumstances of the case when the mass cheating was unearthed by JIT the provincial government ought to have cancelled the MDCAT and thus the decision of the provincial government cancelling the MDCAT and its direction for re-take of MDCAT was in accordance with its mandate and thus does not call for any interference.

“The provincial government is directed to conduct the MDCAT within the time period as provided by the cabinet [six weeks] ensuring transparency in the examination,” said the order.