Tessori challenges SHC ruling on Governor House access to acting governor

KARACHI: Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori on Wednesday challenged the Sindh High Court (SHC) decision—giving access to acting Governor Awais Qadir Shah full access to all rooms, offices and chambers of the Governor House except the residential portion to carry out his official business, without hearing the other party.

Kamran Tessori approached the Supreme Court (SC) and filed a constitutional petition through Barrister Abid Zuberi, with the hearing scheduled in Islamabad’s principal bench.

The petitioner maintained that SHC issued its ruling without hearing their perspective, allowing caretaker Governor Syed Awais Qadir Shah to conduct meetings despite ‘restrictions’.

Kamran Tessori contended that the 2015 law prohibits the caretaker governor from fully using the Governor House, adding that Syed Awais Qadir Shah was ‘given’ all protocol enriched in the constitution.

He added that the acting governor was not restricted from holding the meeting at the Governor House

The petitioner also attached what he called evidence from images and videos showing full protocol extended to the caretaker governor and argued that the constitution defines the limited scope of a caretaker governor’s authority.

Kamran Tessori maintained that the SHC disposed of the case ‘hastily’, requesting the apex to rule the decision null and void.

The Supreme Court Karachi Registry confirmed that the constitutional matter will be adjudicated by the principal bench in Islamabad.

 The Controversy

Speaker of the Sindh Assembly Syed Awais Qadir Shah, acting as governor while Kamran Tessori was abroad, filed a petition with the SHC, and maintained that he took up the acting governor role on June 2 in the absence of Governor Kamran Khan Tessori, who had traveled overseas.

The acting governor told the SHC that he tried several times to enter Governor House to carry out his official and constitutional duties, but the principal secretary repeatedly blocked his access, citing ‘instructions from the governor’.

Syed Awais Qadir Shah’s lawyer argued that the acting governor had scheduled a meeting with senior officials at the governor’s office for Friday, yet the principal secretary again barred him from entering Governor House, leading to an awkward situation.

Following an initial hearing, the bench’s order acknowledged that Governor Sindh was abroad and, as per Article 104, the speaker of the provincial assembly would assume the governor’s duties until his return.

“Prima facie, it appears that under Article 104, the petitioner/speaker of provincial assembly cannot be denied access to the Governor House in order to carry out his official business and that respondent No. 2 [principal secretary] has prima facie violated the Constitution by refusing the acting governor/petitioner access to Governor House,” it added.