KARACHI, Oct 17: A division bench of the Sindh High Court directed on Thursday deputy attorney-general to find out the whereabouts of an alleged detainee from law-enforcing agencies.
The bench comprised Chief Justice Sayed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Ghulam Rabbani.
The court was hearing a constitutional petition filed by Ms Shahjehan, mother of alleged detainee Shaikh Rizwan, who was picked up by a joint raiding party of police and other law-enforcing agencies.
According to the petitioner, police are hunting for her another son, Shaikh Mohammed Kamran, on a charge of being a member of the Harkatul Mujahideen Al Almi.
The court, with the direction to DAG, put off further hearing to Oct 30.
Earlier, the SHO of Gulshan-i-Iqbal police station and DAG Syed Zaki Mohammed, appearing in the court, stated that the accused was not in the custody of police.
The same bench on Wednesday issued notices to the home secretary Sindh and the superintendent of the Central Prison Karachi for Oct 24 on a petition filed by Jan Mohammed, alias Janoo Arain.
The counsel for the petitioner maintained that Janoo was booked in 67 cases by police of different cities and districts in Sindh. The accused was acquitted in 66 cases, but still he was being kept behind the bars.
The court, after initial hearing, put the respondents on notice.
Another bench of the SHC, consisting of Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Amir Hani Muslim, allowing a constitutional petition, ordered release of 200 computer hard disks imported by a welfare organization.
The petition was filed by Farooq Azam of a welfare organization working in Gazdarabad, Karachi. The counsel for the petitioner submitted before the court that import of items for social welfare were exempt from all levies and the custom authorities had impounded the goods by acting beyond their jurisdiction.
ADMITTED FOR HEARING: An anti-terrorism appellate (ATA) bench of the High Court of Sindh admitted on Thursday for regular hearing an acquittal appeal filed by the state against a former MPA, who is also a newly-elected MPA.
The bench consisted of Justice Wahid Bux Brohi and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery.
Adjourning further proceedings for a date to be fixed by the office of the court, the bench also directed Mohammed Husain, MPA, and three co-accused, Zaheeruddin Baber alias Lahooti, Shahdab and Ejaz Ahmed, to submit a surety of Rs200,000 each and personal bond in the like amount to the satisfaction of the the Nazir of the SHC.
The state went into appeal against the judgment of the ATC-I, of Judge Syed Zakir Hussain, which acquitted the above-named accused and six absconders, including another MPA Khalid Bin Walid of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
The accused faced trial under section 7 of the ATA read with sections 302/324/353/109 and 34 of PPC. According to the prosecution, on 28-7-1999 the accused/respondents, accompanied by six absconders, riding on two Suzuki high-roof vehicles, chanting anti-police slogans, attacked a police picket at UP Mor in the police limits of Ajmer Nagri.
Police constable Zafar Ahmed died in the alleged attack, and constable Intekhab Hussain was injured.
An assistant advocate-general Sindh, appearing for the state, submitted before the court that names of three out of the four accused had been mentioned in the FIR and those of four prosecution witnesses were also given in the FIR.
Constable Akmal knew the accused before the incident and thus duly identified the accused, contended AAG. He said two accused, Zaheer and Shadab, also made judicial confessions, but the trial court did not pay due weight to the pieces of evidence against the acquitted accused/respondents.
Khawaja Naveed Ahmed, counsel for Zaheeruddin Baber alias Lahooti, said no specific evidence was available and all PWs were policemen who deposed falsely against the accused, and their testimony could not be relied upon. Mehmood Alam Rizvi, counsel for accused MPA Mohammed Hussain, submitted that the acquittal was rightly recorded by the trial court.
The bench, however, after detailed hearing, held that “Merely because of belonging to police is not enough to reject the evidence. Their evidence is to be read with other pieces of evidence placed on record ....” The bench then admitted the appeal for regular hearing while putting the accused/respondents on notice.
Another bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Mohammed Roshan Essani and Justice Mohammed Mujeebullah Siddiqui, adjourned the hearing of bail plea of Mansoor-ul-Haq, accused in an accountability reference, to Oct 24.
The adjournment came as deputy prosecutor-general of NAB was busy before another bench of the SHC.—APP
