MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): Supreme Court Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has accepted for regular hearing six different appeals filed by the Education Department against the High Court’s decision regarding the dismissal of 496 Quran teachers.
A two-member Supreme Court bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Naseem and Justice Raza Ali Khan accepted for hearing six appeals from different districts filed by the Elementary and Secondary Education Department against order of the High Court declaring the appointment of Qur’an teachers null and void.
The appeals were filed by Sheikh Atiq-ur-Rehman, legal advisor of the department. Eight private appeals of this nature have also been accepted for hearing and are currently under consideration, with the next date for hearing set for August 26.
The High Court, in its order, had declared the selection process of 496 Qur’an teachers by the Education Department null and void and dismissed them from service.
The appeals filed by the department argued that the department acted in compliance with the Supreme Court order.
Division Bench ordered Quran teachers dismissal
A division bench of Azad Kashmir High Court comprising Justice Sardar Ijaz Khan and Justice Khalid Rashid had declared the appointments of Quran teachers under the Education Department null and void.
The bench also ordered an inquiry into the matter and directed action against the officers involved in illegal appointments.
The court directed that an inquiry be conducted within three months to identify the officers responsible for the irregularities. The court nullified the appointments due to violations of rules and regulations.
As per details, more than 100 writ petitions were filed in the High Court regarding the appointments of Quran teachers.
