HYDERABAD, July 9: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, on Wednesday issued notices to the vice chancellor of Sindh University, Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, the dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof Iqbal Ahmed Qureshi, and the associate professor, Department of Management Sciences, Siraj Jamal Siddiqui, on a constitutional petition, challenging the conferring of a PhD degree in Public Administration on Associate Prof Siraj Jamal Siddiqui.

The matter has been fixed for hearing at Karachi on July 14.

The chairman, Department of Management Sciences, University of Sindh, Prof Mohammad Yousuf, has challenged the attempt of Mr Siddiqui of getting a PhD degree through a constitutional petition, which was filed by Advocate Rasool Bux Unnar on his behalf.

Giving the background of his education-related achievements and qualification, the petitioner claimed that respondent associate professor was appointed lecturer in the Department of Political Science in the University of Sindh in 1973 and went on scholarship to do his PhD in Political Science in the USA in 1977 but he only did his Master’s in Political Science from the Eden Boro State College, Pennsylvania.

He said that respondent-3 intentionally overstayed in the USA and even did not apply for extension of leave from the University of Sindh, whereas his application for US nationality was also rejected and he was forcibly deported by the US government in 1982.

He said that after his services were terminated, he was reappointed in 1985 and his break in the period of service from 1977 to 1985 was condoned illegally as much as his absence was considered an experience notwithstanding the fact that he did not serve in any educational institution.

The petitioner’s counsel opposed the exercise of conferring a PhD degree on an unqualified person as he was an MA in Political Science.

He prayed the court to declare the exercise of getting a PhD degree in Public Administration by respondent-3 illegal and without lawful authority.