Karachi:Pasban Pakistan through its President Altaf Sakhoor filed an amended petition in Sindh High Court (SHC) here Tuesday against the Sindh Universities and Institutes Laws (Amendment) Act.
Making respondent the Province of Sindh through Chief Secretary, Sindh Provincial Assembly through its speaker, and Sindh chief minister through Chief Minister Secretariat, the petitioner said that for the development and welfare of the country, it was necessary to check and eradicate corruption and criminality from public offices. It was submitted that due to the massive corruption appointments in the offices of Government and State were carried out without merit and on the basis of nepotism and bribery. Resultantly, the country and citizens are facing a lot of problems. The petition said that a controversial, illegal, unconstitutional “Act” called “The Sindh Universities and Institutes Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018, was presented by Nisar Khuhro, former Senior Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, who moved the motion for presentation and consideration of the report of the Standing Committee on a Higher Technical Education and Research, School Education (Up to Matriculation) and Special Education on the Government Bill No.2 of 2018 as well as Bill No.3 of 2018. However, through this Amendment Act, all powers have been vested with the Chief Minister of the Province by withdrawing powers from the Governor of Province who is representative and symbol of the Federation.
Through the controversial Act, 24 Universities have been affected all over the province, as the political and bureaucratic interference has been inducted and injected in the educational institutions of the province.
The petitioner said that since last four years after the examination of the Secondary and Intermediate Boards, the department of Anti-Corruption malafidely, deliberately, willfully, intentionally raided the Boards and sealed the papers of the students and stopped the results for deliberate delaying and disturbing the young students by non-announcement of the results. He said after harming school and college education the petitioners are now after the university education.
He submitted that the controversial Act were passed in the Assembly on Friday, the 09th March, 2018, when the quorum in the House was incomplete, as only 28 MPAs were present in the House.
The petition said that the controversial Act has snatched the autonomy enjoyed by the Institution of the Higher Education and now these institutions are left on the mercy of provincial bureaucrats. The autonomous structure and body given to the Universities through University Act, 1973, has been curbed illegally and bureaucrats and political representatives who have no knowledge about running of higher and noble institutions are given free hand to destroy the educational structure and system. It said that the Provincial Assembly has failed to appreciate the Articles 2-A, 3, 4, 7, 8, 22, 25 and Chapter-2, Principle of Policies of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, while passing the impugned and illegal Act. The Provincial Legislative Assembly had no lawful power and authority to pass the impugned Act with incomplete quorum and without fulfilling the lawful and constitutional formalities.
The petitioner prayed to declare the impugned Act which was passed clandestinely in incomplete session of Provincial Assembly without any debate as unconstitutional, illegal, void ab initio and of no legal effect. He prayed to restrain the respondents, their servants, agents, subordinates and anybody else claiming through or under them not to politicize the educational activities/affairs of the Universities on the basis of the impugned Act and also restrain the respondents not to misappropriate the sanctioned budget of the Universities. He also prayed to suspend the operation of the impugned Act, pending the final decision of this Hon’ble Court.