KARACHI, June 17: The ousted president of the Institute of Engineers Pakistan (IEP) resumed charge of office at Lahore on Wednesday and the Sindh High Court declined on Thursday to restrain him from carrying out his duties.

M.P. Ghangwani has taken over as IEP president at the institute's head office in Lahore under an SHC order restraining the Punjab industries department from extending the tenure of administrator Aftab Islam Agha, Advocate Shamsul Islam told Justice Ataur Rahman on Thursday.

Appearing for the administrator and the Punjab industries secretary, Advocate Bilal Khwaja, complained that Mr Ghangwani forced his way into the IEP head office.

The matter was sub judice but he took the matter into his own hands. The administrator's tenure had already been extended by a notification, though it had been challenged in the court in the pending proceedings, the counsel contended.

Advocate Shamsul Islam submitted that the notification extending administrator Agha's tenure beyond June 15 was issued in violation of an order passed by Justice S. Ali Aslam Jaferi, who first heard Mr Ghangwani's suit. The violation was reported to Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, the new vacation judge assigned the case, who fixed the matter for hearing on June 21.

Mr Ghangwani was serving as the IEP president when the elected office-bearers were superseded in December 2003 to streamline the institute's functioning and hold fresh elections.

He instituted a suit on the expiry of the administrator's six-month term, saying that the temporary arrangement was sought to be perpetuated without any election. Justice Jaferi admitted his suit for hearing and restrained the defendant industries secretary of Punjab from extending the administrator's term in the meanwhile.

After taking over as president on Wednesday, Mr Ghangwani asked all the IEP chapters to resume their normal activities. He said the institute's central council had been revived and would serve out its term till a new body was inducted after new polls. The Lahore police did not intervene in the matter and only ensured that no untoward incident occurred, he told the IEP members.