Three engineering students of the Dawood University of Engineering & Technology (DUET) have filed a petition with the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the cancellation and suspension of their admissions. Petitioners Mohammad Uzair, Mohammad Zohaib and Mohammad Sajid assailed the DUET order that cancelled and suspended their admissions.
Their counsel Usman Farooq said the director of student affairs / member secretary of the disciplinary committee of DUET had issued the impugned notification on the recommendation of the committee’s meeting on September 17 on the grounds of alleged misconduct.
Farooq said the respondent had recommended the cancellation of admissions of two of the petitioners and the suspension of admission of the third petitioner for six months. He said that sudden and harsh recommendations were forwarded to the syndicate while simultaneously suspending the petitioners’ admissions and banning their entry into the campus.
He also said that the impugned notifications carry an inherent contradiction, as on the one hand the disciplinary committee’s recommendations were forwarded to the syndicate as the competent authority to decide upon them, while on the other hand, the petitioners’ admissions were suspended and their entry into the university was banned with immediate effect.
He pointed out that the petitioners have been punished in advance, without final adjudication, violating the principles of natural justice and fair procedure guaranteed under Article 10-A of the constitution.
The counsel said that one of the petitioners was also penalised by the suspension of his admission from September 17, 2025, to March 17, 2026, and has been barred from attending classes, taking exams and even entering the university. He said that no proper show-cause notice was ever issued to the petitioners prior to the passing of the impugned orders, while no details of the alleged misconduct, statements of witnesses, inquiry reports or any evidence was provided to them.
He also said that the impugned notifications are without lawful authority because under the university act and the regulations, the syndicate is the competent authority to impose major penalties such as cancellation of admission.
He added that the disciplinary committee can only make recommendations, so suspending admission and banning campus entry before the syndicate’s approval is ultra vires, without jurisdiction and has no legal effect.
He requested the court to declare that the impugned notification is illegal and without lawful authority, and that the petitioners have a vested right to pursue their education, attend classes and take their mid-term exams scheduled to be held from October 20.