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Vice-Chancellor, University of Balochistan, Quetta V. Chancellor, University of Balochistan, Quetta and another,

MLD 2012 1597 · Balochistan High Court

This case involved a dispute over how long a university's Vice-Chancellor was entitled to serve. The petitioner had been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Balochistan in May 2010 under a notification that fixed his term at two years, and he agreed to these terms. Near the end of that two-year period, a Search Committee was formed to find a replacement, and the petitioner himself wrote to the Chancellor acknowledging that his contract was expiring. He was then asked to serve temporarily as Acting Vice-Chancellor while a permanent replacement was chosen, and he accepted this role too. He later filed a petition arguing that under Section 12(1) of the University of Balochistan Act, 1996, a Vice-Chancellor's term should legally be four years, so the two-year limit in his appointment notification was illegal, and he should be allowed to serve out the remaining two years.

The Balochistan High Court rejected his petition. It found that although the law allowed for a four-year term, the petitioner had voluntarily accepted a two-year term, never objected during his tenure, and even acted as caretaker after it ended. By his conduct, he had waived any right to challenge the shorter term. The court also noted he raised the issue too late, after already completing his two years, which amounted to unreasonable delay (laches).

This ruling matters because it reinforces that a person who knowingly accepts and acts under certain contractual terms cannot later challenge those terms once they no longer suit him, especially after significant delay.

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