Supreme Court restores two Punjab University's assistant professors

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court here on Wednesday restored two assistant professors (APs) of Centre for High Energy Physics (CHEP), University of the Punjab, who were removed from services on alleged plagiarism. The bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry held that the APs were removed by the Governor, who was not a competent authority.
Allowing their appeals against their removal orders, the court held that as the university did not adopt legal course of proceedings against them, the university authorities were at liberty to hold departmental proceedings against them purely according to the law.
Appellants Maqsood Ahmed and Alam Saeed had submitted that the university authorities did not adopt legal course in removing them. Their counsel submitted that the vice chancellor sought assistance from syndicate committee, which recommended seizure of two increments each.
They further said that the syndicate did not find them plagiarism, holding that they were not set pattern in this regard to evaluate the plagiarists. They said but the chancellor went beyond the limits and instead of seizing their increments, removed them from services.