KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Sindh government to keep the custody of Aisha Bawany College, ending the legal tussle between the government and the Aisha Bawany Trust.
A Supreme Court bench — headed by Justice Azmat Saeed — allowed the government to keep custody of the school until next year after which it would be handed over to the trust, while ruling on the ongoing tussle between the Sindh government and the Aisha Bawany Trust.
During the proceedings, the court allowed the trust to register the college under a different name and the Sindh government also handed a Rs 8.5 million cheque to the Aisha Bawany Trust administration.
The Sindh government has been directed to hand over three of the 17 classrooms of the college to the trust by October 31, so that it may conduct classes of its students.
“Both sides would face severe consequences if they fail to abide by the court orders,” Justice Azmat Saeed warned. “If the court’s orders are not upheld, contempt proceedings can be initiated against the perpetrators.”
Earlier, the Aisha Bawany Trust after obtaining an order from the local court had closed off and sealed the college building.
The Sindh High Court had suspended the order of the subordinate court and had ordered the immediate reopening of one of the country’s oldest colleges. However, classes did not resume until after the students protested and an authorised official of the Sindh High Court reopened the institution and handed over its possession to its principal.
The matter was then referred to the Supreme Court after the Sindh High Court threw out the contempt of court applications filed by the Aisha Bawany Trust and the provincial government against each other for defying court orders.
A single bench headed by Justice Fahim Siddiqui had dismissed both the applications and had ruled that the matter pertaining to the ownership and possession of the Aisha Bawany College would be decided by the Supreme Court, where the matter was pending disposal.
