KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Saturday threw out the contempt of court applications filed by the Aisha Bawany Trust and the provincial government against each other for defying court orders.

Dismissing both the applications, a single bench headed by Justice Fahim Siddiqui ruled that the matter pertaining to the ownership and possession of the Aisha Bawany College would be decided by the Supreme Court, where matter was pending disposal.

Earlier, Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Sheikh had ordered that the provincial government’ contempt of court application against the Aisha Bawani Trust for not complying with the court’s earlier order of reopening of the Aisha Bawani College be placed before the same bench that had restrained the handing over of the building’s possession to the trust.

The application filed by Advocate General Barrister Zamir Ghumro said that the single bench had restrained the execution of order of the civil court regarding the sealing and possession of the college, but the Aisha Bawani Trust was still not allowing the functioning of educational activities at the college.

Howerver, later another bench of the high court ordered on Thursday the reopening of the college on a fresh constitutional petition filed by the college principal and teachers against its closure.

On the orders of a two-judge bench of the high court, SHC Nazir Karamdin Junejo with Additional Advocate General Barrister Ghulam Mustafa Mahesar went to the college in the afternoon and reopened it after breaking its lock. The court official also pasted the court’s order on its gate.

The petitioner principal informed the judges that the futures of thousands of students, being educated at the college, were at stake due to the rift between the Aisha Bawany Trust and the provincial government over the ownership of the land housing the college.

They also informed the court that the college had not been reopened despite earlier order of a single bench.

The petitioner said that the single bench had suspended the order of the lower court to seal the college and ordered its immediate reopening. Despite the passage of six days, they complained, the directive of the higher judiciary had not been complied with.

The bench expressed grave annoyance over the non-compliance of the court’s order and appointed the Nazir, directing him to proceed immediately to the building and show a copy of the court’s order to the person who claimed to hold possession of the college.

The court ordered that the college and the relevant portion of the building be put back in the possession of the provincial government only for the limited purposes of resuming the classes.

Hundreds of students of the college had on Monday protested against the closure of the institution despite the court’s orders on Saturday to resume classes in the college.

The Aisha Bawany Trust had closed off the college building after obtaining an order from the local court. Subsequently, the college administration through the Sindh advocate general had moved against the trust’s action to seek a restraining order against the closure of one of the country’s oldest colleges.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2017