Decision comes after Dr Umer Farooq did not appear to clarify his position. PHOTO: https://www.facebook.com/Dow.University
A division bench, headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, also issued notices to the provincial authorities and the DUHS registrar to file their comments by the next hearing.
The appointment was challenged by the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and Dr Saeed Qureshi, who took the matter up in SHC.
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The petitioners submitted that in order to find out a suitable candidate for the post of the vice-chancellor, the varsity had constituted a search committee.
The committee received applications from 12 candidates, including Dr Qureshi.
On October 2, the committee forwarded a summary to the chief minister recommending the appointment of Dr Saeed as the vice-chancellor. However, the governor appointed Prof Sheikh the same day.
Read: Panel upholds decision: Dow University’s acting VC loses perks, promotion
The petitioners argued that the appointment is a violation of Article 12(1) of the DUHS Ordinance 2004 as well as the amended Article 105 of the Constitution, as the governor has no authority to make any changes to the chief minister’s recommendations.
Therefore, the court was pleaded to declare that the governor has no authority to change the provincial government’s recommendations regarding the appointment of the vice-chancellor.
It was also requested to suspend the notification regarding Prof Sheikh’s appointment. A direction was also sought for the authorities to consider Dr Saeed for the VC’s post.
The bench issued notices to the Sindh AG and the respondents for October 15.
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