KARACHI, March 28: The Sindh High Court adjourned former federal secretary Javed Burki’s bail plea on Friday after hearing the National Accountability Bureau counsel’s arguments.
Advocate Khalid Siddiqui submitted on behalf of the prosecution that Mr Burki, in his capacity as chairman of the Pakistan Automobile Corporation (Paco), gave a free hand to co-accused Muzammil Niazi to float a company to manufacture trucks in collaboration with Paco. He caused a loss of billions of rupees to the public exchequer and had rightly been brought to book by NAB. Accountability courts would be functional in due course of time and the trial court should be allowed to consider the grant of bail to the accused.
A division bench, comprising Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaferi, adjourned the hearing to April 1.
SHOW CAUSE: Justice Moosa K. Leghari issued a notice for April 16 to the trade marks registrar for not answering court summons in a pending suit. The registrar has been asked to show cause why he should not be charged with contempt of court in a suit filed by M/s Shahid Corporation against M/s Irfan and Irfan seeking relief for infringement of a trade mark.
TWO ACQUITTED: A division bench of the Sindh High Court acquitted on Friday two appellants/convicts, Habibur Rahman and Ms Shakeela, in a murder case, adds APP.
The bench comprised Justice Ataur Rahman and Justice Azizullah M. Memon.
According to the prosecution, Ms Shakeela and her alleged lover strangled Mohammed Haroon, husband of Shakeela, in the limits of Pirabad police station.
The accused were tried by a sessions court. The trial court sentenced Habib to death and Ms Shakeela to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment.
The convicts/accused preferred two different appeals before the Sindh High Court.
Javed Akhtar, state counsel, opposed the appeals and submitted that the prosecution had established its case beyond any doubt with the help of circumstantial evidence. He also relied on the medical and other evidence, including forensic test.
Counsel for the appellant submitted that there was no eyewitness of the alleged incident, so the benefit of doubt went in favour of the accused.
He also submitted that a star prosecution witness, son of the deceased and accused Ms Shakeela, resiled from his statement that he made before the police.
After hearing both the sides, the bench allowed the appeals setting aside the conviction and sentences awarded to the accused with reasons to be recorded later.
The same bench admitted an alleged drug peddler, Mohammed Javed Iqbal, to protective bail till Monday against a surety of Rs100,000.
The accused was booked by the Anti-narcotics Force under various sections of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act of 1997.
According to complainant inspector Ghulam Abbas Memon of the ANF, he was patrolling Mauripur Road when he got a spy information that two persons, Javed and Israr, hairdressers by profession, are running a narcotics den in Mohammedi Colony, a kutchi abadi.
An ANF party raided the place and arrested Mohammed Asif and Israr Ghani. Javed fled the scene leaving behind a paper envelope.
The complainant alleged that two kilogram charas were recovered from the envelope and another 1.1kgs and 1.05kgs of charas were recovered from the possession of the arrested accused.
The applicant moved the Sindh High Court for protective bail for 15 days. Khawaja Naveed Ahmed, advocate, appearing for the applicant, submitted that the petitioner was innocent and his arrest might lead to his humiliation and torture at the hands of the police.
After hearing the counsel, the bench admitted the accused to bail before arrest for three days (till Monday) enabling him to surrender before the trial court.
