KARACHI: SHC rejects state pleas against ATC acquittals
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 26: An anti-terrorism appellate bench of the Sindh High Court dismissed on Monday three appeals filed by the state against the acquittal of accused in car hijacking and rape cases by an anti-terrorism court.
The bench comprised Justice Ghulam Nabi Soomro and Justice Ataur Rahman.
The bench however admitted the state’s appeal seeking enhancement of sentence awarded to three accused for murdering a police constable.
The first appeal was against the acquittal of two accused, Mohammed Ismail Magsi and Mohammed Yousuf, who were arrested in a car hijacking case. They were subsequently acquitted of the charge by an ATC. The ATA bench, after initial hearing, dismissed the appeal filed by the state.
The same bench also dismissed another appeal against an ATC judgment which acquitted an accused in the rape case of a baby girl of two and a half years of age.
The accused, Liaquat Husain alias Raju, himself is a minor, aged eleven years. The bench recorded acquittal on the basis of medical report.
The same bench also dismissed in limine an appeal filed by the state against the judgment of an ATC in a motorcycle hijacking case.
Jinnah Agha was accused in the case and he was booked for hijacking a motorcycle from complainant Nadeem Ahmed in police limits of New Karachi police. The accused was arrested by the Kalakot police and handed over to the New Karachi police.
The trial court acquitted the accused due to material differences between the prosecution witnesses and doubtful recovery of the motorcycle.
The same bench however admitted an appeal seeking enhancement of life term to death sentence awarded to accused/respondents Aamir Ahmed, a former police constable, Sardar Ali alias Sardar and Shoaib Khan.
They were booked by the Shahrah-i-Noor Jehan police for killing head constable Swaleh. Mohammed Hashim was injured in the attack. The case was tried by an ATC which convicted and sentenced the accused to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs150,000.
The state went into appeal against this judgment submitting that under section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act no sentence less than death sentence could be awarded to the accused.
The bench, after initial arguments by AAG Sindh, admitted the appeal for regular hearing.
ACT CHALLENGED: Provisions of the National Highway Authority Act, 1991 and National Highways and the Strategic Roads (Control) Rules, 1998 have been challenged in the Sindh High Court.
Petitioner Sadiq Ali, through counsel K. M. Nadeem, has contended that some of the provisions of these Acts are violative of articles 23 and 24 of the Constitution, whereby proprietary and possessory rights of citizens have been guaranteed and no citizen can be deprived of such rights without due payment of compensation.
It is the case of the petitioner that he owns 22 acres of land in Deh Joreji, Tapo Darsano Chano, out of which initially some land was acquired by the government against the payment of compensation to build National Highway.
With the passage of time expansion was done in the National Highway under which a substantial piece of land owned by the petitioner was allegedly encroached without payment of compensation, which if assessed today would fetch Rs5,000,000
It was his contention that the provisions of the National Highway Rules required that any land within the area of 70 meters from the centre of the road could not be used as privately-owned land, which was again a contravention of article 24 of the Constitution inasmuch as such rule amounted to compulsory acquisition of privately-owned land without due payment of compensation.
The petitioner claimed that he had devised a profitable venture to establish a housing scheme, but such encroachments and compulsory acquisition was likely to render heavy losses to him. Accordingly, he prayed that the National Highway Authority should be directed to pay compensation for the land encroached upon and the court should declare the concerned Rule ultra vires of the Constitution.
A division bench, consisting of Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi and Justice Mujeebullah Siddiqui, inquired whether the NHA had the right to cause extension in the road in public interest, to which counsel Nadeem submitted that it had every right but it had also an obligation that such extension should not be made usurping privately-owned land without payment of compensation.
The court ordered issuance of notices to the respondents for Dec 6.
