The Lahore High Court (LHC) has suspended an order issued by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), observing that the commission lacks legal authority to handle employment and service matters of faculty members and staff at chartered universities.
Justice Jawad Hassan issued the interim order while hearing a petition filed by a private university challenging HEC’s interference in its internal affairs. The university argued that its employment matters are governed by its own Employees Service Regulations, 2022, under the Times University Multan Act, 2020.
The university’s lawyer maintained that Section 10 of the HEC Ordinance, 2002, allows the commission to regulate and promote higher education through policies and guidelines but does not authorize it to intervene in universities’ internal employment matters. After reviewing the arguments, the court suspended the disputed order and admitted the petition for regular hearing.
The LHC has issued notices to the respondents and scheduled the next hearing for December 10. It also directed the respondents to submit a report and paragraph-wise comments within four weeks, while a senior HEC official has been ordered to appear before the court.
