Fuuast put on notice over suspended registrar’s plea

Karachi
The Sindh High Court on Monday issued notices to the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST), deputy chair of the Senate and others on a petition filed by the university registrar against his suspension.
Prof Dr Fahimuddin had impugned the varsity’s 26-member senate meeting being held on December 20 and his suspension as a result.
The petitioner’s counsel, Khalid Javed, submitted that the senate meeting had to be called by the vice chancellor but in sheer violation of the relevant statutes and university bylaws the director-general of President Secretariat (public) had convened the meeting of FUUAST senate on December 20 and notices were issued illegally to its members.
He stated that the entire exercise was illegal and had been carried out on the behest of Higher Education Commission’s chairman who wanted to extend the tenure of his favourite senate members for the next term.
He said the involvement of HEC by own or instance of the chancellor in administration of the university was patently illegal and without lawful authority since the President Secretariat’s DG had no authority to call a meeting of the senate, which was the exclusive jurisdiction of university vice chancellor.
He claimed that after the senate meeting, a notification for the suspension of the registrar was issued on December 26 in which the petitioner was suspended without citing any reasons or giving him an opportunity of hearing. He said this was in violation of Article 10-A of the constitution and principle of natural justice.
He mentioned that the FUUAST vice chancellor had also challenged the impugned decisions of the meeting in which he was sent on force leave and the court had suspended the decision taken in the senate meeting of December 26 till further orders and the matter was still subjudice.
Subsequently, the SHC division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar issued notices to FUUAST, deputy chair of the Senate and others, and called for their comments on January 15.

Detention cases
The SHC also issued notices to the federal and provincial law officers, Sindh IG and Rangers on a petition against alleged illegal detention of three citizens by personnel of law-enforcement agencies.
The petitioner, Abida Khatoon, submitted that her spouse Saadatullah Khan, son Muawaz Badri and driver Abdul Qayum Alvi, had been picked up by personnel of law-enforcement agencies on December 5 from Gulshan-e-Maymar and their whereabouts were still unknown.
She submitted that the police was not disclosing their whereabouts and requested the court to direct the official respondents to produce the detainees before the court and provide details of the charges, if any, against them.
Meanwhile, in another detention case, the court directed the police and Rangers to file comments against alleged illegal detention of four persons by the Rangers.
The petitioner, Dawa Khan, and others submitted that their relatives Shahid Iqbal, Fazal Wahab, Khuda-e-Dost and Shah Hussain, were picked up by the Rangers personnel on December 21 from Muzafarabad colony in Quaidabad, and they were not being produced before any court of law. They sought release of the detainee if they were required in any cases.