Contempt of court: SMIU VC given last chance to implement court order

The VC’s lawyer has sought a last chance to bring up the matter before the selection board.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) warned on Thursday of contempt proceedings against the Sindh Madressatul Islam University’s (SMIU) vice-chancellor if the court orders on the regularisation of its employees were not fulfilled within two weeks.

The service appellate bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, made this observation when the incumbent VC, Dr Muhammad Shah, conceded that the court’s orders regarding regularisation of the contractual employees, passed back in January 2011, had not yet been acted upon yet.



Akbar Ali Chandio, along with other SMIU employees, working on contractual basis have not been regularised despite the issuance of clear directions by the court to the varsity administration to consider them for permanent employment. The employees had subsequently filed an application seeking to initiate contempt proceedings against the incumbent VC for not complying with the order.

On Thursday, the VC’s lawyer, Khalid Javed, informed the court that a meeting of the varsity’s selection board was convened on February 9, 2013. The minutes were circulated on February 12 and an additional item relating to the regularisation of the contractual employees was also placed for consideration in the meeting.

It was decided that the contractual posts for regularisation will be advertised in the newspaper and equal opportunity will be provided to compete for regular service, the lawyer explained.

This irked the judges, who observed that the case of the petitioners was that they were working on contract since 2006. In the court’s order, the point for consideration was that the petitioners’ cases were to be considered without any discrimination and a decision was to be taken at least a month before the current contract of the petitioners expired. The last contract period of the petitioners had expired on July 31, 2013.

“Prima facie order of this court has not been complied with and the contempt of court proceedings may be initiated right now,” the bench noted, adding “but Khalid Javed requests that one more opportunity may be given to the alleged contemnor to place the petitioners’ case before the selection board.” Javed gave an undertaking that the selection board’s meeting would be convened within two weeks and the petitioners’ case would be considered in terms of the order passed by the court.

Giving a last chance, the judges granted two weeks’ time to the incumbent VC with strict instructions to submit a report on or before the next hearing on February 12.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2014.