Fee hike: SHC orders Sindh govt to take action against schools

Court says 5% increase is conditional to govt’s approval

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the Sindh government to take action against schools that have increased tuition fees beyond the permissible five per cent. The order came on Monday during the hearing of contempt of court pleas on Monday against private schools for arbitrary increases in school fees. The case was heard by a three-member bench, comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Muhammad Faisal Kamal.

Justice Abbasi questioned, "Has the Supreme Court order not been implemented yet? Who will get the law implemented? The government is helpless."

The court remarked that Additional Advocate-General Mansoor has been made to sit merely with three chairs. "Empower him, deploy guards with him. Even the school guards do not listen to him," remarked Justice Aqeel Abbasi.

The counsel for the private school maintained according to the SC order, it should have been implemented from June 2017. "It is not like that, keep your explanations to yourself," the court remarked.

The Supreme Court had given a cut off date. Now the private schools should implement it, the court said, telling the Sindh government to initiate action against schools who failed to implement the apex court's orders.

The Additional Advocate-General maintained that notices have already been issued to all the schools and actions would be taken against them.

The bench remarked that the Supreme Court has made it clear that 5% fee hike will be implemented from June 2017. Anyone who has increased fee of more than five per cent after June 2017 should return the additional amount. The five per cent increase is conditional to the approval of the Sindh government, said the bench, while wrapping up the contempt of court pleas filed by aggrieved parents.

Report sought

The SHC has sought a report from the South district and sessions judge and Civil hospital administration pertaining to the disappearance of a child from the hospital. A two-member bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Shams Uddin Abbasi heard the petition.

Petitioner Hina Ishtiaq's counsel maintained that her baby boy was born at Civil Hospital in 2016. The hospital staff provided complete documents of the birth of the baby boy. A few days later, the hospital staff handed over the dead body of the child. The court expressed displeasure over police and civil administration. The court sought a report from South district and sessions judge and Civil hospital administration and also the mechanism for the registration of the children born in the hospital.



Notices issued

Another bench of SHC while hearing the illegal weapons and police encounter case involving former sector-in-charge of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Ali Khan alias Farrukh, issued notices to the concerned parties seeking replies on the bail plea filed by the suspect. A two-member bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Shamsuddin Abbasi heard the case. The counsel for the suspect, Muzammil Mumtaz Advocate maintained that his client was frisked away by the police from his home before being entrapped in a fake case. "The police have not only kept my client in illegal custody but also withdrew Rs100,000 through his ATM card." After hearing the arguments, the court issued notices to the prosecutor, seeking replies by the next hearing on August 30.

According to police, the suspect was named in the case registered at Mubina Town Police Station on May 2019. The suspect, police maintain, was apprehended after a standoff.

Hearing adjourned

A two-member bench, comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Khadim Hussain Tanveer, adjourned the hearing of an appeal filed against the punishment awarded to MQM leader Amir Khan over the killing of Anum Aziz, an MQM worker. Amir Khan, accompanied by his lawyer, Mehmood Alam, appeared in the court.

Amir Khan was General Secretary of MQM-H at the time.

The subordinate court had awarded 10-year imprisonment to the MQM leader. Suspending the punishment of the partner-in-crime, Nazim Kala, the case has been sent to the subordinate court for retrial.

However, due to the absence of the special prosecutor, the court adjourned the hearing till October 1.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2019.