IHC restrains govt from appointing HEC Chairman

tHE Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday restrained the government from appointing chairperson of Higher Education Commission (HEC) and issued notices to the concerned authorities for next hearing on June 8.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition, filed by some educationists and civil society leaders, challenging the Higher

Education Commission (Amended) Ordinance 2021 and requesting for the restoration of Dr Tariq Banuri as HEC chairperson.

The petition was filed by the eminent educationists and civil society members, including development sector practitioner and policy analyst Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, nuclear physicist Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy and former Peshawar University vice chancellor Dr Asif Khan, through their counsel Faisal Siddiqi.

The petitioners' counsel argued, “The government is abolishing the autonomy of the institution through ordinances. If you look at the impugned ordinance, only one person Tariq Banuri is affected from it. How it could be that an ordinance is passed only for a particular person and for the removal of HEC chairperson without following the removal procedure laid down in section 6(6) of the pervious ordinance.”

He further argued that through the impugned ordinance, the tenure of the HEC chairperson has also been reduced and the language used in the ordinance is for specific purposes only.

“The first and second impugned ordinances were passed in violation of Article 25 of the Constitution as the two ordinances only affect the tenure of Dr Tariq Banuri while the tenures of the other members of the commission were not curtailed,” the counsel added.

He informed the court that a much more stringent test of discrimination would be applied to the ordinance because it is temporary legislation and it may or may not be made permanent by the Parliament. ”The ordinance does not carry the wisdom of Parliament. An executive act is subject to more stringent judicial review in the face of a prima facie person-specific discrimination.”

The reduction of the term of the chairperson from four years to two years is a major strategic decision, which should have been taken on the basis of evidence as well as due deliberation in a responsible forum, he added.

It is pertinent to mention that the Sindh High Court has also reserved its verdict in a case against the ordinance.