KARACHI, Aug 17: The Sindh High Court struck down on Tuesday a military court conviction as being violative of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution and the Army Act, which also barred a second trial for the same offence.
Appearing for petitioner Bachal Memon, who was convicted by a military court, Advocate Navin Merchant submitted that he was honourable acquitted of the wheat pilferage charges brought against him by the Sindh food department by a military court that initially tried him.
He was subsequently arrested and tried again. He was convicted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment and a penalty and compensation amounting to Rs12.5 million was imposed.
The second trial, the lawyer argued, was repugnant to the norms of justice, constitutional protection against double jeopardy contained in Article 13, Section 403 of the code of criminal procedure and Section 90 of the Army Act.
The state counsel argued the first acquittal order was annulled by the trial court and the second trial, which resulted in the conviction of the accused, was perfectly in order. A military court order could not be assailed under Article 199 of the Constitution.
A division bench, comprising Justices Sabihuddin Ahmed and Khilji Arif Hussain, observed that no annulment order had been placed before the court during 18 years of the petition's pendency.
The request for more time for production of the order was "extremely unjust and unfair" and the impugned order was liable to be set aside in exercise of the court's constitutional jurisdiction.
BARRICADES: The Sindh High Court dismissed on Tuesday a writ petition against requisitioning of water tankers for use as barricades for security purposes.
The petitioner, a tanker owner, submitted through Advocate Shaukat Ali Shaikh that he and other owners and operators suffered financial losses due to forcible acquisition of their tankers without compensation.
The police officials summoned by the court stated through Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan that the tankers were acquired for public purposes and for public safety, which was permissible under the law.
They produced receipts showing payments to the owners of the requisitioned tankers. The petitioner said the payments were inadequate and did not cover the losses suffered by them.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, held that it was not for the court to determine the quantum of compensation in exercise of its writ jurisdiction. The petition was accordingly dismissed.
PLEA ALLOWED: A Sindh High Court division bench allowed on Tuesday a bank manager's appeal against his conviction and sentence in a fraud case and ordered his release if he was not required in any other case.
Appellant Mohammad Iqbal was convicted by a special court for offences in banks in April 1998 for obtaining three loans amounting to Rs 900,000 against bogus applications as manager of the Karachi Port Trust branch of the National Bank of Pakistan.
The loans were sanctioned under the prime minister's scheme for financial assistance to small entrepreneurs and professionals. He was charged with putting in three applications on behalf of three different people and sentenced to seven years' rigorous imprisonment by the banking court.
