On the other hand, SHC reported that police rescued 25 members of a family held captive and forced into hard labor in Benazirabad.
The Sindh High Court has allowed three students of Dawood University of Engineering and Technology to appear for their upcoming exams conditionally after the university administration canceled their admissions.
The court, which heard petitions filed by students Muhammad Uzair, Muhammad Zohaib and Muhammad Sajid, was informed on Wednesday that their admissions had been suspended and later revoked following allegations of misconduct.
The students had approached the court challenging the university’s notification, which they claimed had been issued without any investigation or opportunity to defend themselves.
Representing the petitioners, advocate Usman Farooq argued that the disputed notification was issued by the Director of Student Affairs, who also serves as Member Secretary of the Disciplinary Committee, on the recommendations of the committee made during its meeting held on September 17.
He argued that the disciplinary action lacked transparency and violated due process. The defense attorney argued that no evidence was presented or the students heard before their admissions were cancelled.
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The lawyer added that the students’ exams were approaching and if they were not allowed to appear for the exams, their academic future would be irreparably damaged. “Without a fair hearing and substantiated evidence, students’ entire education is at risk,” he said.
After hearing the arguments, the court granted conditional permission for the three students to appear for their upcoming exams. The court ordered them to submit affidavits to the university administration as a precondition for their participation.
The petition names the Secretary of Education, the Vice-Chancellor of DUET, the Director of Student Affairs and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) as respondents. The court issued notices to all parties for comments and adjourned the matter for further proceedings.
25 bonded laborers freed in Benazirabad
In another matter, the Sindh High Court was informed that the police had successfully rescued 25 members of a single family who had been held captive and forced into bonded labor for almost two years in Benazirabad district.
The report was submitted before Justice Hasan Akbar in compliance with the court’s earlier directives after the relatives of the victims filed a petition seeking their recovery.
According to the police report, the operation was carried out near Main War Stop in Benazirabad, where the victims were found confined in the agricultural land of Ali Asghar Jamali. Among those rescued were men, women and children, including a two-month-old baby.
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Police claimed that the victims had been illegally detained and forced to work without pay. Following the rescue, they were safely relocated and provided medical assistance.
Justice Hasan Akbar appreciated the efforts of the police teams of both the concerned districts in ensuring safe recovery of the hostages within the stipulated time frame. Earlier, the court had directed the police to carry out the recovery operation within three days and submit a detailed compliance report.
The judge observed that bonded labor remained a serious human rights issue in rural Sindh and ordered authorities to take strict action against those responsible for keeping workers in illegal confinement.
