LAHORE – Supreme Court on Saturday suspended vice-chancellor (VC) of the University of Punjab on allotment of varsity land to the provincial government.
Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar issued the orders while hearing a suo motu case regarding selling around 80 Kanals of land to National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC).
During the hearing, the court was informed that the varsity authorities have allotted around 80 Kanals of land to the government for a grid station and Orange Line Metro Train project.
Taking action, the top judge ordered the removal of Dr. Zakria Zakar and appointment of the senior most professor of the university as new VC.
The chief justice grilled the VC over giving land, saying “In which capacity you have given the land to the government”. The court also summoned the members of the syndicate that was responsible for selling the land to the government.
Khalid Ranjha, counsel for Zakir pleaded the court to review the decision, to which, the chief justice ordered him to present resignation then the matter will be reviewed.
Later, Zakir resigned from his post and submitted the resignation to Registrar office.
On April 19, the chief justice had taken a suo motu notice of selling land to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) and sought a report from the authorities concerned in three days.
The university had given a green signal for selling 80 kanals of land to the NTDC for construction of a 220 KV grid station near Mustafa Town in Lahore during the 1725th meeting of the Syndicate in March.
Following the approval, a number of faculty members moved the court to take suo motu notice in this matter.
Giving remarks over the appointment of a permanent VC, the chief justice said that the government did not appoint a permanent VC in order to get illegal favours.
“Why the senior most professor was not appointed as VC?” questioned the chief justice, besides summoning a report over not appointing the permanent VC for past two years and six months.
Let it be known that no any permanent VC has been appointed since January 2016. Earlier, former Lahore High Court Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah had sacked then VC Dr Kamran Mujahid Kamran.
