LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that the Punjab Ombudsman enjoys lawful jurisdiction to hear complaints against the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF).

Justice Muhammad Ajmal Zahid dismissed the university’s petition against a Jan 25, 2018 order of the provincial ombudsman, which had directed it to admit a complainant to the first semester of the M.Sc. Chemistry morning programme for the 2017-18 session.

The complainant had alleged maladministration in the university’s postgraduate admissions.

The university argued that it was not an agency because it pre-dated the University of Agriculture (Faisalabad) Act, 1973, which only reconstituted it, and that it is autonomous.

Its counsel said the student had since completed her studies and the university did not intend to take any coercive action against her.

He said the varsity wanted to get the question of jurisdiction decided only.

The judge noted that Section 2(1) of the Punjab Office of the Ombudsman Act 1997 covers institutions established or controlled by the provincial government.

Even if the university was not originally established by the government, the court said, the question of control still had to be examined.

The judge found that the 1973 Act gives the government and the chancellor, who is the governor, substantial powers over the university.

These include powers to revise the decisions of university authorities, order inspections and inquiries, and issue corrective directions.

He noted that the government also sets the selection criteria and service terms for the vice-chancellor. The provincial minister for agriculture is pro-chancellor, and provincial secretaries sit on the syndicate. Accounts go to the government, which appoints the auditor and deputes a resident auditor.

The judge held these provisions establish control, and autonomy does not rule it out.

The judge concluded that the petitioner-university falls within the expression “other institution established or controlled by the provincial government” under the 1997 Act.

Consequently, the judge said, the objection to the jurisdiction of the ombudsman, founded solely upon the assertion that the petitioner-university is not an agency, is without merit.

The judge dismissed the petition of the university and declared that the ombudsman had rightly exercised its jurisdiction.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2026