IHC bench headed by CJ Athar Minallah orders reinstating Dr. Tariq Javed Banuri as HEC Chairman

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued orders to reinstate Dr. Tariq Javed Banuri as the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

A bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq issued the verdict of reinstating Dr. Banuri to his former position, the report said.

The petition was filed by Mosharraf Ali Zaidi and others against the president of Pakistan, etc.

The judgment says for reasons to be recorded later the petition in hand is allowed. Consequently, the impugned notifications, dates 26.03.2021 and 05.04.2021, are declared to have been issued without lawful authority and contrary to amended provisions of the Higher Education Commission Ordinance, 2002. Respondent No. 6, Dr. Tariq Javed Banuri, therefore, stands restored as the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission.

It should be noted that the court had decided to reserve the judgment of removing Dr. Banuri from his position as the chairman of HEC through an ordinance after hearing the arguments of the lawyers of both parties as well as the attorney-general of Pakistan (AGP).

The IHC on June 8, 2021, issued an ultimatum of three weeks to the HEC to present its reason regarding the removal of Dr. Banuri as chairperson.

The petition, which was heard by the CJ Minallah, was filed by civil society organisations and members following the presidential ordinance.

Following the removal of Dr. Banuri, many educationists and experts criticised the decision and called it “damaging”.

“In terms of sub-section (5), read with sub-section (5A), of Section 6 of Higher Education Commission Ordinance, 2002 as amended vide Higher Education Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, Dr. Tariq Bannri has ceased to be the Chairperson. Higher Education Commission forthwith and is accordingly removed from the said post, with immediate effect,” read an Establishment Division notification issued on Friday 26, 2021.

It is pertinent to mention here that since the removal of Dr. Banuri, the post of the HEC chairman had been vacant.

No other chairman could be appointed as the court prohibited the government from appointing a new chairman.

The ex-chairman later filed a case against the decision of his removal from the position after the government decided to reduce Dr Banuri’s four-year term to two.