KARACHI: High Court sets aside conviction by Ehtesab court
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Dec 11: The Sindh High Court allowed the appeals of two accountability court convicts on Wednesday and ordered their acquittal and release if not required in any other case.
Agha Wazir Abbas, an excise and taxation officer, and Abdul Hameed, a wine store manager, were convicted in March for fabricating bogus liquor import and transport licences, thereby causing a loss of Rs38.28 million to the public exchequer. They were convicted and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, a fine of Rs2.5 million each and disqualification from holding any public office for 10 years. Six other co-accused, all employees of the excise and taxation department, were declared absconders.
An SHC accountability appellate bench, comprising Justice Wahid Bux Brohi and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jafrey, reached the conclusion, for reasons to be recorded later, that the prosecution had failed to make out a case against the appellants. Advocates Mohammed Ilyas Khan and Raza Hashmi appeared for the appellants and additional deputy prosecutor-general Nisar Husain Tarar for the National Accountability Bureau.
COURT NOTICE: The Sindh High Court issued notice to the provincial government in a petition challenging a ban imposed by the home secretary on excavation of sand and sandstones in the Karachi region under section 144 of CrPC.
Petitioner Yusuf Dhario submitted, through Advocate Mohammed Nawaz Sheikh, that he was granted a licence for quarrying over a 50-acre stretch in Karachi’s district West by the Sindh mining department in July. The Gadap and Surjani police were not, however, allowing him to excavate reti and bajri in accordance with the terms of the lease. According to police, excavation of minor minerals has been banned by the provincial home secretary under section 144.
The counsel argued before a division bench, comprising Justice Mohammad Roshan Essani and Justice Syed Ali Aslam Jafri, that the secretary was not empowered to impose a general ban under section 144 without giving reasons and justification. Even if an order could be made under the section, it could not take away the rights of licensees. He had a valid licence and could not be deprived of his vested rights by a general order.
RETRIAL ORDERED: An anti-terrorism appellate (ATA) bench of the Sindh High Court ordered on Wednesday retrial of a car hijacking case against three convicted accused, adds APP.
The bench comprised Justice Wahid Bux Brohi and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery.
Deciding an appeal filed by the convicted accused/appellants, the bench also set aside the sentences awarded to them by the trial court (an anti-terrorism court).
Mohammed Irfan, counsel for appellants/accused, earlier appeared before the bench and submitted that they were wrongly tried by the ATC as, according to an amendment to the Anti-terrorism Act (ATA), vehicle hijacking had been removed from the schedule of offences under the ATA, so now the trial of the crime be held in a common court of law.
After hearing the state counsel and perusing the amendment to the ATA and facts of the case, the bench set aside the conviction of the appellants, Ali Gohar, Mohammed Farooq, and another accused, who were sentenced to a total of 17 years’ imprisonment on a charge of hijacking a vehicle in Quaidabad, possessing illegal arms and having an alleged encounter with the Aziz Bhatti police. The ATA bench ordered retrial of the case.
PLEAS REJECTED: The Sessions Court Judge Karachi East, Ali Sain Dino Maitlu, dismissed on Wednesday the petitions of wives of Iqbal Qureshi, Vice Chairman of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, and Feroz Haider, another party leader, against the arrest of their husbands by law-enforcement agencies, adds PPI.
Police officials of three police stations, Landhi, Shah Faisal and Al-Falah, appeared in the court. The SHO Landhi submitted affidavit before the court and said the Landhi police arrested them on a charge of murder and had taken their remand.
The petitioners submitted that personnel of law-enforcement agencies on Dec 8 raided their houses in Landhi and took away their husbands.
