The writ petition No.2797-P/2017 was presented before Justice Qaisar Rashid Khan in the Peshawar High Court. The Petitioner, named Ateeb Ali, filed a petition against the Institute of Management Sciences. The petitioner represented himself and the Respondents were represented by Mian Mabood Kakakhel (the coordinator of the Institute of Management Sciences, Hayatabad, Peshawar).
The writ called into question the office order no. IMSciences/STD/2017/1299, dated 19th June, 2017, whereby the petitioner was fined Rs10,000/- and rusticated from the Institute.
The petitioner had been a regular student of Institute since September, 2015. An incident took place on 12.5.2017, when an insect was found in the food of Institute’s cafeteria against which the students protested on social media. The petitioner joined this protest, after which a show cause notice was issued to him for posting defamatory remarks on Facebook. The Institute further suspended and fined the student against which this petition was filed.
The coordinator of Institute stated that the action was taken against the student for using derogatory language on Facebook for the Institute. He further added that since the matter had been brought before court, a lenient view would be taken by the Respondent in Petitioner’s case.
The court took the stance that the student should have notified the management of the Institute rather than publicizing the matter on facebook, thereby defaming his Alma Mater. The Court noted that the petitioner regretted his actions and had suffered greatly through the impugned order despite performing well in his academic assessment.
Since the student was ready to submit a written apology as well as sign an undertaking before Institute, the court directed the respondent to withdraw the order and allow him to continue his education. The Court disposed of the petition and ordered the petitioner to resume classes from the next day.