KARACHI: Handing the custody of the Ayesha Bawany Government College to the provincial government till 2019, the Supreme Court has brought the legal battle between the college and the Sindh government to an end. The decision in the case was taken by a two-member bench on Thursday, headed by Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh.
The custody of the college will remain with the Sindh government till May 2019, before it is transferred onto the trust, to which the provincial government gave a cheque worth Rs8.5 million.
The court also ordered that further admissions to the educational institute be stopped till 2019.
The SC bench ruled that Ayesha Bawany Trust can be registered under another name, adding that after two years, the name of the trust will be removed from the college’s name. The bench further directed the provincial government to hand over three of the 17 classrooms of the college to the trust by May 31.
Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh warned both the parties of dire consequences if they fail to abide by the apex court’s orders. “Both sides would face severe consequences if they fail to abide by the court’s orders,” he remarked.
The college was closed earlier in September after its trustees approached a lower court to seal the premises until its ownership was determined.
The government claimed that the trustees, who allegedly own the school, want to use it for commercial purposes and thus approached a lower court to grant a stay on educational activity.
However, the school administration and government officials petitioned the Sindh High Court (SHC), which ordered its reopening after suspending the lower court’s order.
Despite the SHC order, the college was not opened on September 18 and resulted in a protest by students outside the institution’s premises and the staff of the education department and trustees.
Following this, the matter was referred to the Supreme Court.