After a three-day protest: Students approach SHC to get Aisha Bawany College reopened

Petition expected to be taken up today

KARACHI: After protesting for three days, the students of Aisha Bawany College approached the Sindh High Court (SHC) against the Aisha Bawany Trust to reopen the premises to resume educational activities.

A group of students filed a petition in which they named the education secretary, the trustees of the Aisha Bawany Trust and others, as respondents.

They said that the trustees had the college premises sealed under an order passed by a civil court on September 15 following a dispute with the provincial government over the possession of the 3.65 acres of land.



They said that the high court had on September 16 suspended the operation of the civil court's order, ordering the reopening of the college premises. However, they alleged, the trustees were not reopening the premises or allowing the teachers to conduct classes.

The petitioners said educational activities had come to a halt just at the commencement of the academic year, due to which the future of around 2,500 students was at stake. The court was informed that the teachers and students had requested the trustees to reopen the premises to allow resumption of classes following the high court's orders, but the trustees had not complied with.



Therefore, the petitioners pleaded to the court to direct the Aisha Bawany Trustee to comply with the single bench's order to reopen the premises and allow the teaching staff to resume educational activities.

It was further requested to allow the students to attend their classes.
The petition is expected to be taken up today (Thursday).

Government's plea turned down

Meanwhile, a two-judge bench did not entertain the provincial government's request for an urgent hearing on a contempt of court application against the trustees of the Aisha Bawany Trust for not obeying a court order.

The provincial law officer said that the high court's single bench, headed by Justice Faheem Ahmed Siddiqui, had restrained the executing court from conducting any further proceedings regarding awarding possession of Aisha Bawany College to its trustees till September 23. However, the trustees violated the interim stay order by welding the college gates shut.



The law officer moved an application, seeking an urgent hearing of the contempt of court application against the trustees, arguing that the matter involved urgency, as the alleged contemnors were not allowing the teachers to resume classes at the college. It was requested to hear the contempt of court plea and pass an order, as the court may deem appropriate.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, however, turned down the law officer's request to hear the contempt plea and pass an order.

The bench observed that the matter should be placed before the single bench, which had passed the earlier interim order, to hear and decide on the contempt application



However, sources said that Justice Siddiqui, who was heading the single bench, was at SHC Hyderabad Circuit Bench to hear cases this week. Therefore, the matter might be taken up during his visit to Karachi on Saturday.