THE legal battle between different stakeholders over the administrative control of historical Edwardes College, Peshawar, has surfaced in Supreme Court of Pakistan where a bench has recently asked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to hold a meeting of the college’s Board of Governors (BoG) and suggest a workable solution for resolving the controversy.

During the last couple of years, the college, which was established in 1900, has turned into a bone of contention between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and Diocese of Peshawar.

Diocese’s Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz Peter has moved the apex court challenging a last year judgment of Peshawar High Court wherein his petition was dismissed.

He claimed that he was the chairman of the college BoG and it was a private entity. He requested the high court to restrain the respondents including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor from interfering in the administration and other affairs of the college.

Contrary to his claim, around 20 faculty members also filed a joint writ petition requesting the court to declare the college an autonomous institution run by the BoG notified in 1974 and chaired by the KP governor.

PHC on October 1, 2019, declared that Edwardes College was nationalised through Privately Managed School and Colleges (Taking Over) Regulation, 1972, which was also validated through the 1973 Constitution.

A high court’s bench including Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Ahmad Ali rejected the petition of Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz Peter and accepted that of the faculty members of the college over its administrative status.

The high court bench ruled that as the record unfolded, pursuant to Para-4 of the Privately Managed Schools and Colleges (Taking Over) Regulation 1972 (Regulation no 118) from September 1, 1972, all private colleges together with all property attached to them should vest in the central government, if they were situated in Islamabad Capital Territory and in the provincial government, if they were situated in a province.

The court observed that admittedly, the provincial government of the erstwhile NWFP through a notification in January 1974 constituted BoG for Edwardes College headed by the governor as its chairman and all the administrative powers to be vested in the board. The said notification was published in official Gazette on April 2, 1976.

The bench ruled that since then for four decades, all the decisions regarding the college were taken by BoG including appointment of its principals.

The bench observed that Regulation No.118 was accorded due protection by Article 269 of Constitution and the same could not be called in question through any legal proceedings in any court of law which also included this court.

On October 12, a bench of Supreme Court comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin Ahmed took up for hearing civil petitions for leave to appeal filed by Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz Peter against orders of the high court in his petition as well as that of the faculty members.

The apex court in its order states that originally Edwardes School was established in 1855 and converted into Church Mission College in 1900 and was named after the Bishop who sponsored the college.

“It is being run after the partition by Lahore Diocesan Trust Association (LDTA) through registered instrument No. 1503 dated 5th May, 1956. The present controversy emerged after certain interference as claimed by the petitioner was made by the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, amounting to taking over the management,” the bench states.

Senior advocates Hamid Khan and Qazi Mohammad Anwar appeared for the Bishop Humphrey and the faculty members, respectively.

KP Advocate General Shumail Ahmad Butt stated that they would make efforts that meaningful and an effective participation of the trust in the management and affairs of the college was ensured.

The bench observed that KP government would demonstrate large-heartedness by accommodating the concerns and likewise the management of the trust, which would also ensure that affairs of the college were run transparently and financial discipline was maintained.

“A meeting shall be converted with not only BoG including the representative from the Lahore Diocesan Trust and to work out and suggest a workable solution in terms as noted above,” the bench ordered.

The bench ordered that such exercise should be varied out within six weeks. “The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shall host and facilitate to convene such meeting without any impediment. Let the progress in the matter be filed for consideration of the court after six weeks,” it ordered.

As the issue has been lingering on, the Supreme Court has turned into a ray of hope for large number of former and present students of the college believing that the legal wrangling should over at the earliest so that the college should be on way to progress.

This state of affairs has drastically affected the academic standard of the college, which was once the most prestigious college in the province. During last couple of years there is no instance when a student of the college has secured top position in the secondary school examinations.

Several of the former students believe that it would be in the interest of this historical institution, which was thrice visited by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that the apex court should decide the matter at the earliest.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2020