KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday issued notices to the chief secretary and others on a petition seeking student union elections at the University of Karachi (KU).

A two-judge constitutional bench of the SHC headed by Justice Riazat Ali Sahar also directed the registrar of KU to appear in person on Nov 12.

Citing the chief secretary, secretary universities & boards department, secretaries of education and law departments and vice chancellor as well as the registrar of KU as respondents, Ali Sher Muhammad Haris had petitioned the SHC and submitted that they were students of law at the university and have been directly affected by the non-implementation of the Sindh Students Union Act.

The counsel for petitioners Usman Farooq advocate argued that the law has provided a framework for the establishment and functioning of student unions in educational institutions across the province and such institutions were bound to formulate regulations and procedures for conducting student union elections within two months after the enactment of such regulations.

SHC summons varsity registrar for Nov 12

He also submitted that the University of Karachi Act, 1972 also has a provision about the student union at the university, but the KU has not framed any regulation or procedure for the election of student union despite the fact that the law was enacted around four years ago.

The counsel further contended that student organisations and unions had existed on the campuses across the country since independence and played an active role in its political and social life, the same were banned in 1984 through martial law orders issued by the administrators of the various zones, while such ban was lifted in 1988-89 after the provincial Assembly had repealed such order.

He maintained that the universities & boards department has framed the draft rules under the act, but the same had not been finalised or notified and petitioners have also filed an application with the department concerned for placing the rules draft before the cabinet and notifying the same.

He argued that the KU was also bound under Section 3(3) of the Act for framing regulations and arranging student union elections, but the prolonged non-implementation of the statute and administrative inaction have caused a blanket ban on all students irrespective of individual conduct.

The lawyer also submitted that the continued inaction of the respondents has violated the petitioners’ rights as guaranteed in Articles 4 (right to be dealt with in accordance with law), 16 (freedom of assembly), 17 (freedom of association), 19 (speech and expression) and Article 25 (equality before law) of the Constitution, while the respondents were public functionaries and bound to perform the duties as required by law within a reasonable time as a statutory duty with a fixed time limit cannot be left unperformed for years.

He further maintained that in an identical petition, filed last year in the SHC, the universities & boards department in its comments said that all educational institutions were empowered to frame their own regulations but no institution has yet finalised its regulations while the draft rules, shared with all universities including the KU in 2024, were undergoing legal vetting by the law department and thereafter would be submitted to the provincial cabinet.

The petitioners pleaded for directions to the respondents to complete the vetting of the Sindh Students Union Rules, place the same before the provincial cabinet within 30 days and notify in the official gazette. They also sought directives for the VC and registrar of KU to frame regulations and procedures, constitute an election commission and make all arrangements to hold student union elections at the university.

After a preliminary hearing, the bench in its order said, “Let at first, notices be issued to the respondents as well as advocate general Sindh, who shall file their respective comments. The respondent No.6 registrar of Karachi University shall be in attendance on the next date of hearing”.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2026