HYDERABAD: A Constitutional Division Bench of the Sindh High Court’s Hyderabad circuit has summoned Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) Medical Superintendent Dr Ershad Kazmi to appear in person and submit a report on allegations against him and the suspension of his licence by the regulator.
The bench, comprising Justice Adnanul Karim Memon and Justice Mohammad Jaffer Raza, issued notices to the PMDC, the Sindh health secretary, the Anti-Corruption Establishment chairman, the LUH director administration and procurement, the additional advocate general and the deputy attorney general, and asked them to file their comments before the next hearing, the date of which is to be fixed by the court office.
The order was passed on a writ of quo warranto filed by Mumtaz Jatoi, an LUH laboratory assistant, after the Oct 28 hearing and was signed on Tuesday. He was represented by advocate Nisar Chandio.
According to the order, the petitioner invoked the court’s constitutional jurisdiction primarily to challenge the appointment, posting and subsequent promotion of Dr Kazmi despite the suspension of his medical licence for five years by the then Pakistan Medical Commission on Nov 21, 2022. A fine of Rs500,000 was also imposed on him for alleged professional misconduct and the preparation of a false post-mortem report.
Mr Jatoi’s counsel contended that the order remained operative and had not been suspended by the Medical Tribunal, Islamabad, in Dr Kazmi’s appeal (No.
188-C-MT-01/2023). His posting under a notification dated Nov 13, 2025 and his promotion on Oct 5, 2026 were therefore without lawful authority and liable to be declared void through a writ of quo warranto, the counsel argued.
The counsel said that during his tenure the MS had allegedly indulged in corruption, irregular procurement, local purchases, issuance of supply orders and unauthorised financial and administrative decisions in violation of the Sindh Teaching Hospitals (Establishment of Management Board) Act, 2020. He had also countersigned house job certificates of medical graduates despite the suspension of his licence, the counsel added.
The petitioner alleged that when he resisted the unlawful withdrawal of about Rs37.4 million deposited by paramedical students as examination and enrolment fees, the MS developed a personal animosity towards him. This, he said, led to harassment, the initiation of an inquiry, the removal of his additional assignments and his eventual transfer to LUH Jamshoro. He said the MS lacked the authority to transfer him, as the 2020 Act vested such powers in the director administration or the health secretary.
He also alleged that his personal belongings, including original educational certificates, official stamps, cash amounting to Rs3OO,000 and other articles, were taken into custody after his office was allegedly broken open on Jan 5, 2026, and had not yet been returned.
His counsel said the petitioner was not seeking relief in the present proceedings regarding his own transfer or service-related grievances, as these fell within the jurisdiction of the provincial service tribunal. He referred to those events only to demonstrate the alleged mala fide conduct of the MS.
The petitioner contended that no action had been taken against the MS, or on the alleged corruption and misuse of public office, despite representations to the authorities concerned.
He asked the court to declare the MS’s appointment and promotion unlawful, direct the regulator to implement its disciplinary order, and order an independent inquiry into the alleged corruption and irregularities.