Search committee restrained from finalising Mohammad Ali Sheikh as SMIU VC

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday restrained the secretary of the search committee formed for the appointment of the Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU) vice chancellor (VC) from finalising the name of former SMIU VC Mohammad Ali Sheikh for the third consecutive term till further orders.

The interim order came on a petition of Mohammad Nadeem Ahmed and others who challenged the appointment of the former VC for the third tenure. A counsel for the petitioners submitted that Sheikh had been appointed for two consecutive terms since 2012 and he stood retired from the post on March 11 this year. He submitted that the respondent former VC was again appointed as the acting VC despite the issuance of an advertisement for the post of the VC in January 2020.

He submitted that under the university laws, no person could be appointed for a third consecutive term for the post of the VC; however, the respondent, Sheikh, had applied for the post and he had been shortlisted by the search committee.

The lawyer also submitted that the search committee had not finalised the name of the VC of the varsity for the last eight months and the post of the acting VC had been handed over to a retired person which was against the law. The counsel sought injunction for the possible appointment of the respondent as the SMIU VC for the third consecutive tenure.

A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar after a preliminary hearing of the petition issued notices to the search committee secretary, a provincial law officer and others and called their comments for August 13.

The court directed the search committee secretary to explain the reasons for the delay in the appointment of the SMIU VC and ordered that if former VC Sheikh had applied for the post for the third tenure, his application shall not be finalised by the search committee till the next hearing.