19 May 2004	Wednesday	28 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, May 18: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday adjourned proceedings in the Pakistan Herald Publications Limited petition against the chairman of the implementation tribunal for newspaper employees to a date in office after briefly hearing the counsel for the parties.

The division bench comprising Justices Shabbir Ahmed and Khilji Arif Hussain was about to rise for the day when the petition questioning the impartiality of the chairman came up for hearing.

Appearing for the PHPL Workers Union and the private respondents who had lodged complaints with the tribunal, Advocate Faiz Ghanghro submitted that the chairman had transferred the cases against the petitioner concerned to a labour court of competent jurisdiction.

The transfer has been ordered at the request of the complainants under Section 13 of the Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1973, and the petitioner was left with no grievance against the chairman.

The petitioner's counsel, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, rejoined that he would challenge the transfer as the chairman had no power under the law to pass such an order. The respondent chairman, Justice Javed Nawaz Gandapur, a former judge of the Peshawar High Court, was present at Tuesday's proceedings. He has denied bias against the petitioner in his comments.

The Jang Group of Newspapers was, meanwhile, allowed to join in the proceedings subject to payment of court-fee. The interim order passed by the bench earlier to restrain the chairman from proceeding with the hearing of complaints against the PHPL would, meanwhile, remain in force.