Lahore High Court rules PMDC cannot take back MDCAT question papers, orders upload to app

The Lahore High Court's Rawalpindi bench has declared illegal and unconstitutional the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council's practice of collecting MDCAT question papers from candidates after the exam, Pakistan Observer reported on 16 October 2026 and The Express Tribune on 17 October. Justice Ahsan Raza Kazmi ruled on petitions by students Rehan Shahid and Anabia Tahir, represented by Barrister Imran Afrasiab, and ordered the council to upload the papers to its official app without delay and to implement the order the same day.

PMDC introduced the paper-return requirement this year, asking candidates to hand back the question booklet with their answer sheet. Its lawyer defended the policy and asked for the petitions to be dismissed, while federal counsel Malik Zaheer Arshad partly supported the students, the Tribune reported. The court said candidates should be able to access and study the papers. UHS Lahore alone reported 47,475 candidates sitting the 20 September test, with 79.43 per cent meeting the 55 per cent MBBS threshold. Separately, the federal health ministry on 3 October directed PMDC to investigate alleged irregularities at Sindh centres and report within 15 days.

Candidates should look for the papers on the PMDC app and check the official notices of PMDC and their conducting university.