Dr. IQRAR AHMAD KHAN vs Dr — 2021 SCMR 1509 SUPREME-COURT

Fields are extracted from the reported citation and judgment text. Where a detail is not stated in the record, it is not shown.

Dr. IQRAR AHMAD KHAN VS Dr. MUHAMMAD ASHRAF Ss. 11(8), 14(3) & 14(6)---University of agriculture Faisalabad Conduct of Business Rules of the Syndicate, 1976, R. 3---Post of Vice-Chancellor---appointment---appointing authority (Chief Minister), discretion of---Structured exercise of discretion---Scope---Search Committee constituted by the Provincial Government for the selection of the Vice-Chancellor made recommendations to the Chief Minister who then advised the Governor / Chancellor of the University to appoint the respondent as the Vice Chancellor for a period of four years---appellant who was placed highest on merit list was not appointed to the post on the grounds that certain unsettled audit paras had remained unaddressed during the appellants' tenure as Vice Chancellor and that four syndicate meetings that were required to be called in a year were not convened, which constituted sufficient reason to deny appointment to the appellant even though he was on top of the merit list having scored the highest marks---Chief Minister had made no effort to examine the mentioned audit paras to ascertain whether they were actually related to the financial control and management of the appellant---Record reflected that he recorded a general finding without ascertaining the facts with any degree of accuracy or due application of mind---Nothing had been shown that may connect the outstanding audit paras with poor financial controls of the appellant---Principal accounting Officer of the Provincial Government was a member of the Search Committee that placed the appellant at Serial No. 1 of the merit list, and said official gave the appellant 10 out 10 marks in the category of "administrative and Financial Management"---Further the appellant was given 45 marks in the interview, and against this, the respondent was given only 31 marks---With respect to the second reason provided by the Chief Minister that appellant was unable to hold the required number of syndicate meetings, the relevant provision i.e. R. 3 of the University of agriculture Faisalabad Conduct of Business Rules of the Syndicate, 1976 was discretionary and not mandatory in nature as no consequence was provided in the law or the rules for failure to comply with the same---Reasons provided by the Chief Minister for not appointing the appellant, who was placed highest on the merit list, were justiciable and courts could examine them on the touchstone of validity, fairness and compliance with the law, rules and departmental practice---Discretion of the Chief Minister in such regard was not unfettered, unbridled and unregulated---Reasons provided by the Chief Minster in the present case for not appointing the appellant to the post showed an exercise of pick and choose with a pre-determined mind and a conscious and deliberate effort appeared to have been made to contrive reasons to appoint a person lower on merit and deprive a person better qualified, higher on merit and obviously more suitable for the post in question---Such act of the Chief Minister amounted to an illegal, arbitrary, capricious and unbridled exercise of discretion---appeals were allowed.

Dr. IQRAR AHMAD KHAN vs Dr — 2021 SCMR 1509 SUPREME-COURT

Case information

Judgment text as reported

Other judgments reported in 2021 SCMR