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LHC removes law college principal

 LAHORE, June 1: The Lahore High Court has removed the University Law College principal from her post on the grounds that her appointment was in violation of the varsity policy and based on nepotism.

Justice Hafiz Tariq Naseem issued these directions while hearing a petition moved by Ammara Akbar, an advocate, seeking admission to the LLM and challenging the appointment of Shazia Qureshi, the acting principal. Ms Akbar had attained the required marks but could not pass the interview.

Ms Qureshi’s husband Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran is Punjab University vice-chancellor.

“No doubt Shazia Qureshi was foreign qualified but she was an assistant professor in college, while according to the university calendar and University of the Punjab Act 1973, principal should only be appointed by syndicate on the recommendation of VC from amongst three senior most professors,” the judge observed.

He disagreed with the contention of respondent’s counsel that Ms Qureshi’s appointment was a stopgap arrangement due to non-availability of professors or associate professors, giving the ruling that despite such posts lying vacant no serious attempt was made to fill them. The principal’s post had been lying vacant since December 2008.

In the light of this, Justice Nasim stated: “The office of principal is declared as vacant due to illegal and unlawful appointment by vice- chancellor. The post would be filled through fresh appointment in prescribed manner and till that a person possessing requisite eligibility would be given additional charge of principal for interim period.”

Regarding Ms Akbar’s plea about her admission to LLM, the judge rejected her pray observing that Graduate Studies Committee comprising four member (including two of them LHC judges) had said that she did not meet the merit.

ADJOURNED: Justice Sharif on Monday adjourned to June 22 a suo motu hearing into the killing of a woman and her three children in Sadar Berooni in June 2007.After going through a report submitted by the Rawalpindi City Police Officer, the judge observed that “no clue of the accused has been brought on record” and that the CPO had submitted the investigating officer had been directed to trace out the accused. The chief justice gave three weeks time to the IO.

The suo motu hearing was issued on April 27, 2009 over the killing of Zahida Parveen and her three children M. Usman (five), Iraj (seven) and M. Zubair (12).

The woman’s husband, M. Naseem, a bank guard, came home from work on June 9, 2007, to find his three children murdered and his wife in critical condition. She also succumbed to her injuries four days later.

DAWN.com:  Staff Report:Tuesday, 02 Jun, 2009