KARACHI, Feb 24: The Sindh High Court has summoned the city nazim on Wednesday in a petition alleging that the city district government of Karachi was not denotifying a union council nazim and deputy nazim despite a vote of no confidence against them.
Petitioners Naheed Akhtar Khan and Abdul Quddus, lady councillor and general councillor of the union council number four (Metroville), submitted that they initiated a move on August 18, 2003, to recall UC nazim Abdur Razzaque and deputy nazim Nawaz Abbasi for misuse of funds, favouritism and subjecting the council's interests to those of their party.
The nazim and his deputy approached the high court the same day and the proceedings on the recall motion were stayed. The petition was contested by Ms Khan and Mr Quddus and the court passed a consent order on Nov 18.
The order said the petitioner nazim would convene a meeting of all 21 councillors as required by the law. An officiating nazim would be elected by the meeting so convened under Section 89 (4) of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001. The acting nazim thus elected would conduct the proceedings on a single point agenda - the recall motion.
A UC meeting was held on Nov 22, 2003, in pursuance of the order. Councillor M. Altaf Khan was elected officiating nazim and he asked Ms Khan and Mr Quddus to table their motion as its proposer and seconder.
The motion was carried by 11 votes in favour to seven against. One councillor was absent and two ballots were excluded from the count on an objection raised by the outgoing nazim and his deputy.
The entire record of the UC proceedings was sent to the city district government of Karachi under Section 85 (6) of the SLGO and was received by its official concerned on Nov 24.
The CDGK was required by the law to issue a notification to the effect that the UC nazim and the deputy had ceased to hold office so that fresh polls could be conducted.
However, no notification had been issued by the CDGK and the ousted nazim and deputy nazim were still performing their functions. The petitioners said the CDGK and the nazim and the deputy nazim were in continuous and recurring violation of the SLGO and sought a direction to them to act in accordance with the law.
Justices Shabbir Ahmed and Azizullah M. Memon, who heard the petition on Tuesday, directed that the city nazim be asked to meet the bench in chamber on Wednesday.
NAZIM'S PLEA: Meanwhile, another division bench comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and S. Ali Aslam Jafri stayed the operation of a local council election tribunal's order disqualifying Nazim Dad Rahim of UC-11, Allama Iqbal Colony, Lyari, and issued preadmission notices in the petition for March 10.
The petitioner nazim submitted that a petition against his election as councillor was moved by his defeated rival, Haji A. Sattar, for his having been dismissed from service by the Muslim Commercial Bank in April 2000. He also levelled vague allegations of irregularities.
The petitioner said the election tribunal comprising an additional district judge allowed the petition and held him ineligible for the contest without adverting to the fact that under the law, only those dismissed from government service were disqualified for contesting the polls. The MCB was a private bank and his alleged dismissal could not render him disqualified, he claimed.
YMCA PETITION: The Young Men's Christian Association registered in 1913 under the Society Registration Act, 1860, moved on Tuesday a writ petition against the rival YMCA registered in 1964 with the provincial welfare department.
The petitioner sought a declaration that it was the original and first YMCA entitled to own and hold the association's assets, particularly the plots of land with the constructions raised thereon, on Aiwan-i- Saddar Road, which house a number of educational and community institutions.
SHOW-CAUSE TO EDO: Justice Amir Hani Muslim of the SHC on Tuesday, rejecting the oral explanation by the EDO, master-plan department of the city district government, issued a show-cause notice to him asking him to attend the court on Wednesday, adds APP.
The bench was hearing a suit filed by Imperial Builders against Lions Associates. The bench took notice of the illegal nature of the building and issued a notice to the Karachi Building Control Authority.
Legal Adviser of the KBCA Shahid Jameeluddin submitted all the relevant documents and records and took the plea that the land adjacent to Gilani railway station belonged to the Pakistan Railway Housing Society.
