LAHORE:
Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Justice Muhammad Shan Gul on Friday set aside an order of the Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Multan that suspended the admission of a student who belonged to the Ahmaddiya community.
The petitioner’s counsel told the court that he had been admitted into the Faculty of Pharmacy at the university based on the minority quota, and had deposited the necessary dues on September 22.
However, the university’s administration office did not inform the petitioner before suspending his admission, did not listen to him, or provide any substantial reason for the suspension.
The high court asked the legal advisor to appear before the court and requested to ask the university why such a drastic step had been taken against the petitioner.
According to the counsel, there was no reason for the order under challenge to have been passed, and that explanatory words at the end of the order about the matter being challenged in the LHC were entirely gratuitous, unwarranted and untrue.
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According to Justice Gul, the order under challenge cannot be allowed to stand for two conspicuous reasons. It treated the petitioner as an object and does not treat the petitioner with the requisite dignity required in the terms of Article 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
He maintained that the move was a violation of Articles 4 and 10-A of the Constitution and, therefore, cannot be filed.
Furthermore, Article 36 of the Constitution also provides for safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of minorities. The right contained in Article 22 and the principle of the policy contained in Article 36 of the Constitution “clearly” protected the petitioner from such attacks.
Finally, Justice Gul directed the vice-chancellor of the university to inquire into the matter and find out why the petitioner had been picked and singled out for such “callous and insensitive” treatment.
The order was declared to be of no legal effect and was set aside. A copy of the order is to be sent to the vice-chancellor of the university so he may take a paternalistic view in the matter and ensure that the petitioner is not dealt a marked hand.
