SHC suspends KU’s order cancelling Justice Jahangiri’s degree

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday suspended Karachi University’s decision to cancel the degree of Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri of the Islamabad High Court.

The court was hearing a petition filed against the university’s decision, during which Karachi University Registrar Prof. Imran Siddiqui appeared before the bench.

He informed the court that the university had received the notice only two days earlier and requested more time to submit a response.

Justice Iqbal Kalhoro questioned how much time was needed and expressed concern about any potential action against the petitioner during the interim period. Advocate Barrister Salahuddin urged the court to grant time for a reply but suspend the cancellation order in the meantime.

Justice Kalhoro remarked that if the order was later overturned, who would compensate for the loss suffered by the petitioner, whose “entire life’s work is at stake.” He also questioned whether the affected party was given notice before the degree was revoked.

Registrar Siddiqui stated he was newly appointed and unaware of the details, to which Justice Kalhoro responded that appearing in court required providing answers.

He further noted that action might have been taken due to personal interest, and that any decision taken without hearing all parties lacks legal weight.

The bench observed that ex parte judgments are not considered good judgments and stressed the importance of hearing all sides before issuing such decisions.

Later, the court suspended Karachi University’s decision to cancel the law degree of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jehangiri’s and adjourned the hearing till November 20.

It may be recalled that the Karachi University had canceled the law degree of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jehangiri on September 26.