Court orders college to conduct exams with SOPs

Bench orders zoo to provide 'natural habitat' to bear cub kept in small cage without mother

The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed on Thursday the management of Jinnah Medical and Dental College to conduct examinations with pandemic-related standard operating procedures (SOPs).

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed, was hearing the plea filed by students, who asked why they were being told to appear for physical exams when they had taken online classes.

The petitioners stated that due to technical issues, they were unable to attend all their classes, adding that several students were living in areas that were under lockdown. They further complained that the college was asking them to appear for exams without being tested for Covid-19.

The court ordered the college management to conduct separate exams for students residing in areas under lockdown.

The bench further stated that if a student could not take the exams due to coronavirus, their exams should be conducted later. Justice Mazhar remarked that students who could not attend online classes must be shown leniency as well.

Justice Mazhar further stated that while the college was not responsible for testing each student for the virus, it must comply with the defined SOPs.

The college management assured the bench it would implement the SOPs, upon which the court disposed of the petition.

Removal of billboards

Separately, the SHC directed relevant authorities to comply with the Supreme Court's orders regarding the removal of billboards in Karachi as it disposed of the plea.

The court remarked that all billboards should be removed from public sector buildings in line with the SC orders, directing all cantonment boards and the private sector to comply with the verdict as well.

The petitioner's counsel maintained that billboards were still present at several places in the city, upon which the court remarked that the administration was bound to implement the apex court's orders.

Authorities would inspect the relevant sites before removing the billboards, the court added.

Bear cub at Karachi Zoo

The SHC also ordered relevant authorities to provide Rano, a bear cub kept in a small cage without its mother at the Karachi Zoological Gardens, with its natural habitat within eight hours.

The court was hearing a petition against keeping Rano in such a condition, where the petitioner's counsel, Barrister Mohsin Qadir Shahwani claimed the cub was not being fed in a timely manner while zoo authorities were not looking after its health.

The zoo was in a dismal condition, putting animals' lives at risk, he asserted, adding that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation had neither the resources nor the capability to care for the animals properly.

"Treating animals in such a manner is not permitted in Islam or under Pakistan law," Shahwani insisted.

He moved the court to direct the relevant authorities to provide a natural habitat to the animals and shift Rano to its mother in Skardu immediately.

He also requested the court to order the zoo management to take proper care of the animals and establish an expert committee that could survey the zoo and give suggestions for its improvement.

The court ordered that the bear cub be provided a natural habitat within eight hours, seeking a report in this regard in two days.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2020.