KARACHI, Oct 1: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the defence ministry and military authorities in a petition seeking release and trial of human rights activist Krishan Sharma in terms of its judgment against his detention and court martial under the Army Act.

A division bench comprising Justices Shabbir Ahmed and Gulzar Ahmed took up the petition, which appeared on the additional cause list, at the request of the petitioner’s counsel, Syed Ghulam Shah and Noor Naz Agha. They said Sharma had not been heard of since his arrest in March and had not been freed even after an SHC division bench’s judgment declaring his custody unlawful. The petition was left over twice, on Sept 9 and 23, because of paucity of time.

The bench, which was about to rise for the day, directed that notices be issued to the respondents for a date in office. The federation (through the ministry of defence), the Karachi military authorities, the federal investigation unit and its director, and an officer of the army’s judge advocate-general (JAG) branch have been cited as respondents by petitioner Srimati Leelan, Sharma’s mother.

The petitioner says that Sharma’s custody with the military authorities was declared illegal by an SHC division bench comprising Justices Zahid Kurban Alavi and Zia Perwez on August 26. The bench held that being a civilian, Sharma could not be detained and court-martialled under the Army Act.

According to the JAG branch, he had been held for espionage under the Official Secrets Act. The forum and procedure prescribed by the Act, the bench observed, should be followed in dealing with the alleged offender.