PHC extends stay of UoP registrar till next order

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday extended stay of Dr Syed Fazl-i-Hadi as Registrar of the University of Peshawar (UoP) as the court had earlier suspended his transfer order issued by the acting vice-chancellor of the university.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Younas Thaheem and Justice Ghazanfar Khan extended the stay order till the court’s next direction.On May 23, the court had suspended the notification issued on February 7 this year by the pro-vice chancellor of UoP about transfer of the Registrar.

During hearing, Fida Gul, legal counsel for the acting vice-chancellor, informed that reply was submitted in the high court one day ago. However, the bench said the reply was not attached with the case record.

Fida Gul submitted that the case had become anfractuous as the Registrar on the court’s order assumed his charge and the vice chancellor then sent him on three months forced leave.Mohibullah Kakakhel, counsel for the Registrar Fazl-i-Hadi, submitted that even after the court’s suspension order the acting vice-chancellor again passed an illegal order sending the petitioner on forced leave even though under the law he has no authority to pass such orders.

H requested the court to also suspend the illegal forced leave order of the vice-chancellor against the petitioner. However, the court observed that it was a fresh cause of action and needs another application against the second order.

The lawyer argued that the impugned removal of the petitioner from the post of
Registrar was based on malafide intention of the respondent.It was argued that despite the orders of the high court, the petitioner had gone unheard and no relief was provided to him.

It was submitted that the governor/chancellor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sought an advice from the Law Department on the issue.“This department is of the view that Dr Syed Fazl-i-Hadi has been appointed on regular basis under a statute and he has vested/accrued right to continue on regular basis till his retirement. Such vested right is not affected by repeal of the University of Peshawar Act,” the Law Department opinion was quoted in the petition.

It was also pointed out that first the vice-chancellor had personal grudges against the petitioner and second he had been appointed in contravention of the latest judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.It was further added that acting vice chancellors of three public sector universities were from Jamaat-i-Islami, a partner in the ruling PTI-led coalition in the province.

The lawyers argued that the acting vice chancellor of the UoP and two other acting VCs devised an indirect method of remaining acting VCs for indefinite period as they had got a stay order from the high court through writ petitions and halted the appointment of nine vice chancellors of the public sector universities in the province.