The extension of the PEC Chairman's and Governing Body's tenure has also been declared without lawful authority by the Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of Pakistan (MOST), which has also, on the complaint of a PEC member, appointed an Inquiry Commission to inquire into failure of the outgoing Chairman and Governing Body to hold elections before expiry of their term in accordance with the Pakistan Engineering Council Act, 1976. It is pertinent to mention that there is no provision in the PEC Act, 1976, or the rules and regulations made thereunder, for extending the 3-year term of the PEC's Chairman and Governing Body.
In the Writ Petition, the Petitioner has prayed, inter alia, that (i) extension in tenure of the outgoing Chairman and Governing Body be declared illegal; (ii) they be restrained from functioning as such; and (iii) that MOST appoint an Acting Chairman and Acting Governing Body as part of a neutral and impartial caretaker setup to hold free and fair elections of the PEC.
