KARACHI: Bank officers be bound to verify loan documents
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 26: Bank officers should be legally obliged to verify the authenticity of documents submitted by loan seekers, a division bench of the Sindh High Court observed on Friday.
The bench, which consisted of Justices S. Ahmed Sarwana and M. Mujibullah Siddiqui, was considering a pre-arrest bail application moved by a UBL officer, Iqtidar Khan, facing trial before a special court for offences in banks. The officer is accused of accepting forged documents as security for repayment of a Rs8 million loan while he was serving at the bank’s Napier Road branch. The prosecution agency, the Federal Investigation Agency, wanted to arrest him with the main accused, Majid, who obtained the loan against bogus documents.
The bench asked the federal government standing counsel, Syed Ziauddin Nasir, who contested the application on behalf of the FIA whether there was any law or rule that required bank officers to scrutinize loan documents. The counsel replied in the negative but asserted that the documents were invariably checked as a matter of established practice and standard procedure. Any officer who omitted to examine title deeds and other documents failed of his duty.
The bench, which earlier rejected the bail-before-arrest plea moved by the main accused, observed that bank officers should be responsible for verifying documents as a matter of statutory duty. The interim bail granted to the co-accused, who said he accepted the documents on the basis of a certificate issued by a sub-registrar, was confirmed in the sum of Rs 200,000.
Meanwhile, the Federal Shariat Court granted bail to an appellant convicted of murder attempt and robbery and sentenced to 17 years rigorous imprisonment by a Sanghar sessions court under a Hudood ordinance.
Appearing for the appellant, Advocate Qurban Ali Chauhan submitted that his name was not mentioned in the first information report nor was he identified by any eye-witness. There was no evidence to connect the accused with the commission of the offence.
PLEA DISMISSED: A division bench of the Sindh High Court, comprising Justice Wahid Bux Brohi and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, on Friday dismissed the appeal of Yousuf Ali against conviction in a murder case and upheld the judgment of the trial court, adds PPI.
The appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs10,000 on May 22, 1991 by the sessions judge of Badin on charge of killing a villager, Mehar.
According to the prosecution, complainant Kehar Chalgari lodged an FIR at the Tando Bago police station on July 25, 1988 that the convict, who had enmity with his son, Mehar, came at his house and killed him.
The appeal was filed in the SHC against the conviction and the court, after hearing arguments of both side counsel’s, dismissed the appeal and upheld the life imprisonment awarded to him by the trial court.
UC NAZIM: An SHC division bench, comprising Justices Shabbir Ahmed and Gulzar Ahmed, issued notices to the secretary for local government, Sindh, and others on a petition of an officiating union council Nazim against a no-confidence motion.
Petitioner Furqan Ansari,officiating Nazim of UC-6, North Karachi Town,submitted that he was elected officiating Nazim of the UC after its Nazim resigned to contest the general elections.
He stated that a no-confidence motion was moved by a councillor, Shabana Khan, also named as respondent, against him but it was turned down by a majority of the councillors.
After the rejection of the motion, she moved another motion, which was approved, he stated.
His counsel Obaid Hamza and Abdul Wahab Ansari submitted that the no-confidence motion moved by the respondent was contrary to the Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001 as there was no provision of repeated no-confidence motions.
They contended that an impugned letter, issued by the Audit Local Commission to the respondent councillor, in which stated she would entertain all accounts of the UC-6, was of no legal effect.
They prayed the court to declare the letter issued by the audit local commission void.
NOTICE ISSUED: Justice Ataur Rehman of the Sindh High Court issued notice to the Sindh Alkalis Limited and others on a miscellaneous application filed by Muhammad Nazir, a shareholder who prayed the court to allow him join the other 35 share-holders who have filed a petition against the company.
The petitioners have been seeking court’s orders for the winding up of company and appointment of an official assignee to look after its matters. They have alleged that the company had failed in fulfilling its liabilities.
Muhammad Nazir has submitted that he had received neither his salary for the last four years, nor the arrears etc.
