KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has issued notices to provincial authorities and Karachi Univer­sity on a petition seeking removal of its acting vice chancellor.

Petitioners Prof Dr Mohammad Ahmed Qadri and Prof Dr Moonis Ahmar submitted in their petition that the acting VC had been holding the post for the past almost two years and allegedly overstepping his authority and influencing a search committee constituted to process the appointment of a regular VC.

After a preliminary hearing, a two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui issued notices to the principal secretary of chief minister, universities and boards secretary and KU through its registrar and acting VC Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi with a direction to file comments within 10 days.

Both the petitioners, who have applied for the post of regular VC, moved the SHC against Dr Iraqi and submitted that they served KU for over 30 years.

They contended that the acting VC was illegally appointed in violation of set precedents and procedures and he had been “engineering” circumstances in collusion with other respondents that delayed the appointment of a new VC.

They said that Dr Iraqi himself was also an applicant for the post of regular VC.

The high court is asked to order appointment of a new acting VC from among the three senior-most professors

They further submitted that the previous VC of KU had passed away on May 4, 2019 and on the very next day a summary was initiated and sent by the secretary of universities and boards to the chief minister recommending the name of Prof Dr S. Jamil Kazmi, who was on number seven in the seniority list, for appointment as the acting VC.

However, the summary was returned with an observation to put up a panel of three senior-most professors and simultaneously the registrar of the university was directed to hold the charge of the university till the appointment of an acting VC, they added.

The petitioners submitted that surprisingly on May 15, 2019 the chief minister and the secretary of universities and boards had appointed Dr Iraqi as the acting VC till the appointment of a regular VC despite the fact that he was at number 28 in the seniority list.

‘Conflict of interest’

They alleged that acting VC had usurped the powers of the syndicate and was running the affairs of the university as a regular VC by increasing his own perks and benefits, making appointments, reappointment of retired employees, granting an Eid allowance to all Muslim employees in grade-17 and above and also extending benefits to two sitting members of the search committee creating a serious conflict of interest.

The petitioners maintained that no provision existed in the law to empower even a regular VC to grant such an allowance.

They contended that the acting VC had allegedly appointed a son of a member of the search committee as assistant professor while another member of the same committee was operating a private journal from the KU premises under the auspices and patronage of the acting VC under the name of Pakistan Journal of Botany.

They again alleged that the acting VC had used this office to increase his chances for appointment as the next VC of KU by giving favour to two members of the search committee.

They pleaded for his immediate removal and sought direction for the respondent to appoint a new acting VC from among the three senior-most professors of KU who have not applied for the post of regular VC.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2021