Law university: SC turns high court orders into recommendations

Court asks provincial govt to take steps to set up such an institute

PESHAWAR:

Changing the Peshawar High Court’s directions into recommendations, the Peshawar registry of the Supreme Court asked the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government to establish a law university in the province.

A three-member bench headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali was hearing an application filed by the provincial government which challenged the PHC’s directions to set up a law university.

When hearing commenced, Additional Advocate General Mian Arshad Jan argued that the promotion of education was the government’s first priority, but it could not establish a university due to its weak financial position after the recent floods, earthquake and terrorism.

He told the bench that upgrading the Khyber Law College to a university would cost the provincial government Rs10 billion. Jan argued that PHC did not seek a reply from the Higher Education Commission during the course of the hearing.



However, Justice Amir Hani Muslim remarked that HEC had nothing to do with the establishment of a university as it was bound to implement policies formulated by the provincial government. He remarked there was no need to nominate HEC as a respondent in this case.

The AAG contended that financial woes were the major hurdles in the way of setting up such a university. He said practical steps could only be taken once the situation improved.

PHC Bar Association President Fida Gul and another council member, Nasir Mehfooz, argued that setting up a law university would promote education in the province. They asked that if Islamia, Engineering and Agriculture colleges could be given university status, why can the same not be done for a law college.

The lawyers said it would be acceptable to them if the bench converted the PHC’s directions into recommendations. The bench accepted their prayer and changed the PHC’s directions into recommendations and disposed of the case.

In an earlier hearing, the bench asked whether there was any law university in the province. The AAG replied that no such institution exists in K-P. The AAG was of the view that PHC could not give directions to the provincial government to establish a university as the prerogative lay with the latter.

The PHC, on a petition filed by the high court bar association, directed the provincial government to give Khyber Law College university status.

Meanwhile, the bench dismissed an appeal filed by a convict against his life imprisonment sentence in a hashish smuggling case. The appeal was filed by Haider Shah who was sentenced for smuggling 223 kilogrammes of hashish.

Anti-Narcotics Force prosecutor Iqbal Mohmand argued before the bench that on February 21, 2005, 223kg of hashish and 500 grammes of opium was found in a case owned by the convict. He argued that his appeal was dismissed by the high court.

Shah’s lawyer said many legal aspects were ignored during the trial and claimed the drugs were never seized from his client. After hearing the arguments, the bench dismissed the appeal.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th,  2015.