Plea Against NED Varsity Disposed Of

Karachi: The emeritus status of Prof Dr Engr Jameel Ahmed Khan, a former vice-chancellor of the NED University, will be considered strictly in accordance with the varsity's statues.


The assurance to this effect was given on Friday by the counsel for the vice-chancellor, the registrar and the syndicate of the NED University before the Sindh High Court that disposed of the constitutional petition of Dr Khan who prayed to the court to restrain the respondents from applying amended statutes retrospectively to his case being considered by the syndicate.

The petitioner, who was appointed professor emeritus with the lifetime status in 1990, submitted that the university amended the statues in 2009, substantially converting the lifetime status to a five-year tenure.

He said that the vice-chancellor prepared the agenda for the 156th meeting of the syndicate, held on March 15, 2010, with ulterior motives to target him.

Dr Khan submitted that it was proposed in the syndicate meeting that either he might be granted privileges together with the responsibilities for five years or he might carry only the title of professor emeritus for a lifetime.

He stated that none of the proposals could be considered by the syndicate and the decision was deferred for want of legal advice on the issue.

The petitioner, represented by Advocate Mehmood Alam Rizvi, submitted that the vice-chancellor, aged about 86 years, was appointed VC in Dec 1996 after the age of superannuation and retirement from the Pakistan Railways at the age of 72 years and thereafter was able to secure extension three times. Due to these reasons, he said, many members of the syndicate hesitated to express their opinion freely.

He stated that the item of the agenda regarding his tenure was mala fide and the VC particularly targeted him, although the amendment made in 2009 was not applicable to his case as the amendment could not be acted retrospectively.

The petitioner prayed to the court to restrain the respondents from applying amended statues of 2009 retrospectively in his case under consideration of the syndicate at present.

Advocate Obaid ur Rehman, counsel for the respondents, made a statement in court saying that the case of the petitioner would be considered strictly in accordance with Clause 8 (i) of the NED University of Engineering and Technology Statutes for Appointment of Professor Emeritus, 2001, as amended in 2009.

The Clause 8 (1) reads that conferment of emeritus status shall normally be for lifetime but can be terminated if so desired by the professor emeritus or the syndicate can it terminate by a three-fourth majority on considering unsatisfactory contribution of the professor emeritus to the academic life of the university.

The petitioner's counsel conceded to the respondents' attorney and stated that if any adverse action against his client was to be taken, a prior written notice be given to the petitioner as well as an opportunity of hearing.

The respondents' lawyer agreed to the request of the petitioner's counsel.

The bench comprising Justices Gulzar Ahmed and Shahid Anver Bajwa disposed of the petition in terms of the statement made by the respondents' counsel.