KARACHI, Oct 27: The Sindh High Court summoned the provincial chief secretary on Monday to appear in person on Nov 3 to explain why no order has been issued in respect of regularization of a property despite a lapse of two months.
A suit was filed by a creditor bank that immovable property mortgaged by a debtor concern was not being regularized by the provincial board of revenue under the regularization ordinance promulgated in 2001.
The board was not prepared to issue a challan to the official assignee for payment of regularization charges. The court summoned the board member concerned and was constrained to issue bailable warrants for his arrest to enforce his presence when he failed to appear. The member appeared on Sept 8, informed the court that the matter awaited CM’s approval and requested a week’s time to resolve it.
The case was taken up on Sept 29 and when the official assignee reported lack of any progress, the court directed the chief secretary to approach the chief minister and have the case settled expeditiously.
The suit again came up for hearing on Monday, but the assignee had nothing new to report. Justice Shabbir Ahmed, who is seized of the plaint, asked the chief secretary to personally explain the position.
CASE AGAINST NAZIM: The Sindh High Court asked the police officials concerned to entertain a complaint against the City Nazim, the executive district officer and four other officers of the city district government and register a first information report if a case for a cognizable offence was made out.
Petitioner Mumtaz Hasan Brohi alleged that he had ancestral land gifted to his forefathers by the rulers of Sindh in the Shershah village when they migrated from Khorasan. A dispute arose over its ownership in the 1950s and the case was still pending. The trial court had ordered status quo to be maintained pending the proceedings.
The city district government high-ups, however, demolished the boundary wall around his land and damaged the standing crop. They also fired shots. The town police officer of the Site Town and the SHO of the Pak Colony declined to register an FIR. State counsel Jawed Akhtar did not contest the plea that the police officials should act in accordance with the law and discharge their statutory obligations.
NOTICE ISSUED: Justice Ghulam Nabi Soomro of Sindh High Court on Monday issued notice to the jail superintendent for Nov 3 and asked him to appear on Nov 3, add agencies.
The court was hearing an appeal by Imamuddin in which he prayed for reduction in his sentence.
He was sentenced to five-year RI with a fine of 5,000 by an additional district and session judge on charge of smuggling children for camel race in Middle East.
On a previous hearing, the court called the fresh jail-roll of the appellant as the roll earlier provided by jail authorities was incorrect.
When the matter was taken up on Monday, neither the fresh jail roll was provided, nor any official appeared.
BY-ELECTION: A division bench of the Sindh High Court, comprising Justice Wahid Bux Brohi and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, on Monday issued notices to the AG Sindh, the returning officer and others for Oct 28 on a petition filed by Dost Ali Jessar against the non-declaration of byelection results.
The petitioner submitted that he contested the by-elections for Zila Naib Nazim in Dadu on Oct 20 and secured highest number of votes, but the RO failed to declare the results on ground that none of contesting candidates secured 50 per cent votes.
The court was prayed to direct the RO to declare the petitioner as returned and declare non-declaration of results illegal.
Tasman case: Justice Shabbir Ahmed of Sindh High Court adjourned till Dec 11 hearing of a suit filed on behalf of citizens of Karachi against the federation, the KPT, the PNSC and the Environment Protection Agency for recovery of Rs 10 billion as damages injunction arising from Tasman Spirit disaster, with observation that it should be heard together with the suit filed by the trustees of the port against the owners of the tanker and the PNSC.
When the hearing began on Monday before Justice Shabbir Ahmed, counsel for the plaintiff Kamal Azfar bar-at-law, pointed out that the KPT trustees had filed suit claiming recovery.
He stated that it was contention in both suits that sum of US$1 billion is recoverable from P&I Club in terms of international law and practice relating to compulsory insurance of the tanker.
Mr Azfar submitted that many other contentions, including unseaworthiness of tanker Tasman Spirit are common to both suits. He stated that in a constitutional petition filed in the Supreme Court by Dr Amjad Hussain Bukhari, advocate, in which Dr Pervez Hasan, expert on environmental law, was appointed as amicus curiae, had submitted his submissions before the court.
He drew the attention of the court to submissions of Dr Pervez Hasan and endorsed suggestions that Karachiites will be satisfied if a high-powered commission, headed by a retired chief justice of supreme court, who resides in Karachi, is constituted to recover from insurers and distribute amounts for betterment of environment of Karachi and that it would be appropriate to wait for the observations of the court.
Justice Shabbir Ahmed adjourned the hearing of the suit to Dec 11 with the observation that the suit filed by Ms Sherry Rehman be heard together with the suit filed by the KPT trustees against owners of the oil-tanker and the PNSC.
