The Patan High Court on Thursday upheld its previous stay order, putting on hold the admission process of the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until final verdict.

Continuing the hearing on a petition filed by over 15 students, claiming that the examination held by IoM was rigged, a joint bench of Judge Bhola Chaulagain and Judge Balabhadra Banstola asked the IoM to present all the answer sheets before the court.

The students had moved the court on December 13, claiming that they did not pass the entrance test held on December 2 because the IoM had played foul while publishing the results.

Responding to the petition, Judge Ramesh Kumar Pokhrel had earlier on December 15 stayed the results and admission process of the IoM.

On Thursday, the High Court decided to continue the stay order.

“We have asked IoM to present all the answer sheets before the court,” said

Dhurba Upreti, deputy registrar at the Patan High Court. “The next hearing is scheduled for December 26.”

The IoM lawyers have maintained before the court that the answer sheets are checked by machines and thoroughly reviewed, providing little room for error.

“We will duly follow the court orders. The admission process has been put on hold for now,” said IoM Dean Dr Jagdish Agrawal.

The continuation of the stay order has further delayed the MBBS admission process of the IoM for the new academic session.

The admission process for this year has already been delayed by over a month, thanks to the back-to-back controversies regarding exam process of the IoM.

The first one was when the IoM entrance exam held on October 14 had to be declared void after it was revealed that the questions had been leaked and several students were found using wireless devices to cheat in the test. 

This time, the IoM is facing litigation over the result of the exam that was re-conducted on December 2.