KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday directed an inquiry committee to file its preliminary recommendations about the role of vice chancellor of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU), Larkana, regarding suspected suicidal deaths of two students till March 8.

The two-judge bench comprising Justices Aftab Ahmed Gorar and Adnan-ul-Karim Memon observed that the vice chancellor Prof Dr Aneela Atta-ur-Rehman insisted on obtaining an interim restraining order against her forced leave, but first the preliminary report be submitted to ascertain the role of the petitioner.

Dr Rehman approached the SHC through her lawyer and assailed the notification issued on Feb 12, whereby she had been forced to proceed on leave for 45 days and Prof Dr Hakim Ali Abro had been assigned the acting charge of vice chancellor of SMBBMU in her place.

The bench issued notices to the chief secretary of Sindh, secretary of universities and boards department, Dr Abro and advocate general of Sindh directing them to appear in court on March 8.

The petitioner’s lawyer contended that there was no provision under SMBBMU Act, 2008 as amended by Sindh Universities and Institutes Laws (Amendment) Act, 2018, to direct the VC of the university to proceed on leave and thus the impugned action taken by the competent authority was a nullity in the eyes of law.

He argued that the competent authority (secretary of universities & boards) was only empowered in cases of gross misconduct, inefficiency, corruption, violation of budgetary provisions, moral turpitude, maladministration and mismanagement, which was not the case under review hand.

However, the counsel asserted that the incidents of suspected suicides of students, Dr Nimrita and Dr Nosheen Shah, had prompted the competent authority to exercise powers vested in him under sub-section 9(10) of the Act, 2008 as amended under the Act 2018, as such the entire exercise conducted in this regard was based on presumptions and no concrete evidence was available on record to force the petitioner to go on leave.

He referred to various documents attached with the memo of the petition, including a judicial inquiry conducted by the district and sessions judge, Larkana, regarding the death of students and dismissed the deaths as suicide.

The lawyer for the petitioner also referred to an earlier order of the SHC issued in November 2020 in another petition and argued that under similar circumstances, this court had held that there was no provision to direct the incumbent vice chancellor to proceed on leave during the pendency of inquiry proceedings.

He pleaded suspension of the impugned notification while a provincial law officer along with secretary of services, general administration and coordination department Ghulam Ali Birhmani has waived the notice and submitted that the forensic department had found concrete evidence concerning the alleged suicidal deaths of the students.

Therefore, they further argued that the competent authority has decided to conduct the probe into the allegations and in meanwhile, the petitioner has been directed to proceed on leave till further orders under the Sindh Civil Servants (Efficiency & Discipline) Rules 1973, just to avoid influence in the inquiry proceedings.

The provincial law officer further submitted that the Sindh government was taking concrete steps to bring the actual culprits to justice and therefore, the petitioner should cooperate with the probe committee as constituted by the provincial government Sindh vide notification issued on Feb 12, and during this period, petitioner may not be allowed to continue as VC of the respondent university.

The bench observed that the questions involved in the present proceedings were whether the vice chancellor of university could be directed to proceed on leave under the relevant laws and whether the petitioner was under probe by the inquiry committee constituted by the government.

“However, it is made clear that the impugned notifications are subject to the outcome of this petition. The Inquiry Committee is directed to submit its preliminary recommendations before this court on the next date of hearing, in terms of Reference dated Feb 12, 2022, so far as the role of the petitioner is concerned.

At this stage, the petitioner insisted on obtaining for the interim order, let at the first instance preliminary report be submitted to ascertain the role of the petitioner in the aforesaid probe”, it concluded.

Nimirta Chandani, a final-year student of BDS, was found dead in her hostel room in September 2019 and Nosheen Kazmi, a fourth-year student of MBBS, had allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan of her hostel room in November 2021.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2022