KARACHI, Feb 26: A division bench of the Sindh High Court allowed a petitioner on Wednesday to continue organising a fair-price bazaar pending decision on his plea against the city government.
Advocate Akhtar Jamal submitted on behalf of petitioner Nasir Nizami that he had been organising a ‘Tuesday bachat bazaar’ for the last about 12 years near football ground in Landhi. After the election of the town committee, the town nazim started harassing him. Despite payment of certain dues demanded by him, the nazim was bent upon awarding the contract for the ‘bachat bazaar’ to his favourite.
He said neither the provincial government nor the city government, nor the town committee or its nazim was empowered to impose any charge on the organizers of ‘bachat bazaars’ nor sell the permission to hold such bazaars by auction or otherwise. Any substantial imposition would only lead to price increase and the whole purpose of holding ‘bachat bazaars’ would be defeated.
The bench, comprising Justices Sabihuddin Ahmed and S. Ali Aslam Jafri, directed the petitioner to deposit Rs 20,000 as security with the SHC Nazir. The court would hear arguments on the question of law agitated by him on March 5.
NOTICE TO ANF: The state and the Anti-Narcotic Force officials were put on notice by a division bench of High Court of Sindh, comprising Justice Muhammed Roshan Essani and Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, on Wednesday, adds APP.
The bench was hearing a constitutional petition filed by Dawood Jatt, an accused in a smuggling case of 2,000 kgs of charas.
The petitioner, moving the court, maintained that he was falsely implicated in a case by the ANF in 1995 when one Faqir Mohammed allegedly disclosed to the police that the charas he was carrying at the time of his arrest was property of Luqman Palari and he (Faqir) had been asked to hand over the same to Dawood Jatt as sample.
Faqir Mohammed during interrogation also led an ANF party to a thin forest near Jhimpir from where about 1994 kgs of charas was recovered by the ANF.
The ANF men which also arrested one Chakar who was guarding the consignment. The accused were tried when Dawood Jatt moved an application under section 265-K and subsequently he was acquitted of the charges.
The petitioner maintained that for the last few weeks he had been receiving messages that a new FIR had been registered against him and that the investigating officer had applied to the district and sessions judge central for a permission to arrest Faqir Mohammed and Chakar and he also apprehended his arrest in an eight year-old case.
The bench after hearing the counsel for petitioner directed all the respondents to submit para-wise comments in the matter.
The same bench also issued notice for March 7 to the ANF men in a petition alleging harassment.
Ms Noor Jehan, invoking the constitutional jurisdiction, submitted that her son Rashid Ahmed is wanted by the ANF in connection with heroin smuggling case and during a search for Rashid, the ANF personnel, the area police and others raided her house and looted gold ornaments and other articles.
She maintained that when she contacted the ANF men for the return of looted articles, she was being threatened that her house will be sealed.
The bench, after hearing the counsel for petitioner, issued notices to all respondents for March 7.
