30 September 2004	Thursday	14 Shaban 1425

KARACHI, Sept 29: A division bench of the Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notices to a federal attorney and the secretaries of the ministries of information and labour and manpower for a date in office in a writ petition moved by the All Pakistan Newspapers Society.

The petition challenges the legal validity of the Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1973, the wage boards constituted under it and the awards announced by them. It says that being applicable only to the print media, the 1973 law 'blatantly' discriminated against the newspaper establishments.

There was no other industry, including electronic media, subjected to identical treatment. It also impinged on the freedom of the press by obliging the newspaper concerns to adhere to wage awards practically determined by one person for all their journalist and non-journalist employees. The act was thus repugnant to Articles 19 and 25 of the Constitution and should be so declared by the court, it said.

The petition also sought a permanent injunction against the implementation of any award under the 1973 act. Pending the proceedings, it requested the court for an interim order to restrain the respondents from enforcing the impugned law and the seventh wage award announced under it. The Pakistan Herald Publications Limited and the Jang, Nawa-i-Waqt and Kawish groups of newspapers have individually joined the APNS as co-petitioners.

Barrister Abdul Hafeez Pirzada appeared for the petitioners as the petition came up before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Zawwar Hussain Jaffery.

The bench directed that notices be issued to a deputy attorney-general and the federal ministries for information and labour and manpower through their secretaries for a date to be fixed by the SHC office.