A three-member bench of the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry on Tuesday, while questioning the performance of the Punjab Government asked, “What name should be given to the working of the government, which is not filling top administrative slots in key government departments despite court directions and assurances made to the court?” “Several seats are lying vacant while government does not seem to be serious in complying with the court orders” the judges noted. The bench was displeased on delay in appointments of University of Health Sciences (UHS) vice chancellor (VC) and King Edward Medical College University (KEMCU) VC where Adhoc VCs had been working for the last two years despite apex court judgment against this practice. The bench comprising of Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Jawad S Khawaja and Justice Mian Saqib Nisar was hearing an appeal petition filed by the Punjab government against Lahore High Court (LHC) orders against contract appointment of Malik Hussain Mubbashar as UHS VC.
The LHC had cancelled contract appointment of directing government and had vowed to fill the post on merit. On Tuesday, Pakistan medical and dental council (PMDC) filed an application to become a party in the matter but the bench dismissed it observing that at that stage no one could be allowed to be party in the case during the hearing, Advocate General Punjab (AGP ) Aushtar Ausaf present in the court could not give a satisfactory reply to queries of the bench on the matter. The bench asked the law officer of the government and the petitioner counsel to come for final arguments for March 12 in Mubbashar’s appointment case.
PLOT ALLOTMENT CASE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday summoned Punjab advocate general for assistance on April 9 in an intra court appeal seeking cancellation of plots allotted to 28 LHC judges during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure as the prime minister. The bench comprising Justice Muhammad Khalid Mehmood Khan and Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti was hearing an appeal petition filed by advocate Saif-ul-Haq Ziaee. The petitioner submitted in his appeal that he had challenged the allotment of plots to senior LHC judges in Johar Town and Garden Town, Lahore, in 1993 on the grounds that the plots could only have had been allotted to officials if the allottees or their family members had had not possessed any plot earlier and they had had to testify the same on affidavit.
However, the judges submitted a certificate instead of affidavit he said and added that the petition had been dismissed in 1994 by a judge who was also involved in the matter. The petitioner pleaded the court to set aside the order of the single bench and cancel the plots allotted to judges. The ICA was filed in 1995 against the single bench order and the case was not heard till 2002.
