MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court on Monday refrained the AJK president and others from disturbing the status quo with respect to the University of AJK’s vice chancellor till the next date of hearing of a petition.

The order was issued by Justice Sadaqat Hussain Raja while taking up the petition filed by Fazal Mahmood Baig, a former secretary general of the Central Bar Association Muzaffarabad, through his counsel Karam Dad Khan.

In August last year, the AJK president, who happens to be the chancellor of all public sector universities, appointed Dr Khawaja Farooq Ahmed as the acting VC till the appointment of his permanent successor.

Prior to that on July 8 last year, a ‘search committee’ was constituted by the president’s secretariat to select the suitable candidate for the post. On March 29 this year, applications were sought by the secretary presidential affairs through a newspaper advertisement from suitable candidates.

The petitioner prayed that under section 10 of the UAJK Act, the constitution of the ‘search committee’ and the March 29 advertisement should be declared illegal, void without lawful authority, violative of constitutional provisions and fundamental rights etc.

Section 10 of the UAJK Act empowers the president to appoint the VC on “such terms and conditions as he may determine” for a term not exceeding four years.

The section further reads that if at any time when the VC’s office is vacant or the VC is absent or unable to perform the functions of his office due to illness or some other cause, “the chancellor shall make such arrangements for the performance of the duties of VC as he may deem fit.”

The petitioner contended that while incorporating section 10 in UAJK Act, no mode of appointment or qualification (of VC) had been incorporated.

Since the impugned section of UAJK Act empowered the president to appoint any person as the VC, it was violative of express constitutional provision, Rules of Business, national and international educational policies and thus liable to be struck down, he said.

The petitioner pointed out that the AJK interim constitution empowered the government to exercise its executive authority under the Rules of Business. Contrarily, the president was under constitutional command and could act only on the advice of the prime minister as envisaged by Section 7 of the interim constitution.

While exercising his powers as the chancellor, the president was under legal obligation to act on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet and not as an independent organ of state, but he was contemplating appointing the VC in negation of the constitutional provision and the Rules of Business, he said.

The court issued notices to the respondents to file comments before May 6 to decide about the admission of the petition for regular hearing or rejection.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2016