The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday handed back the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), National Institute of Child Health (NICH), National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and the National Museum to the federation.
A full bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, announced its verdict which was reserved earlier on eight identical petitions that had challenged the devolution of the three medical centres and the National Museum to the province by the federal government.
The court directed the federal and provincial governments and all authorities concerned to complete all matters relating to the return of JPMC, NICVD, NICH and the National Museum from the Province to the federation such that the position of these institutions is restored within 90 days. The bench directed the federal and provincial governments to file an appropriate joint statement before the court after the exercise completes.
Earlier after the 18th amendment was passed, the three major health facility centres were supposed to be devolved from the federal government to Sindh province; however, it could not happen as officials of the centres knocked the court’s door on which the SHC granted a stay against handing over the administrative control of JPMC, NICVD, NICH to the province.
The petitioners’ counsel submitted that there was nothing in the 18th amendment as devolved any of these Institutions to the province, thus their purported transfer from the federation to the province was wholly illegal.
The counsel of the Pakistan People’s Party led provincial government defended the devolution of JPMC, NICVD, NICH and the National Museum to the province.
After going through all the records and hearing arguments from all sides, the court disposed of the petitions with an order, “The transfer/devolution of JPMC, NICVD, NICH and the National Museum to the Province is declared to be unconstitutional, without lawful authority and of no legal effect.”
