KARACHI, Jan 24: A division bench of the Sindh High Court heard on Monday the advocate-general's arguments in a writ petition moved by the nazims of the province's four bifurcated districts.
AG Anwar Mansoor Khan submitted that the provincial government had absolute powers to establish and reconstitute districts under the Sindh Land Revenue Act. The petitioner nazims were not removed but had to be relieved as a result of bifurcation of Dadu, Larkana, Mirpurkhas and Jacobabad.
Asked by the bench, which consisted of Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Zia Pervez, why the four districts were divided, the AG stated that the decision was taken in the interest of good governance.
Smaller units make for better administration. They were among the more populous districts. The petitioners had not challenged the bifurcation notification, nor alleged mala fides against the government, he said.
The Sindh Local Government Ordinance, he added, did not deal with the consequences of bifurcation. Its Section 7, however, declared that the districts notified by the government under the Land Revenue Act shall be deemed to be districts under its provisions.
Sections 23 and 24 of the SLGO provided for removal of nazims and naib nazims by internal and external recall, which entailed certain dis qualifications.
The nazims and naib nazims of the four bifurcated districts, the AG submitted, had not been removed but were relieved by operation of law. They were free to go back to the newly-constituted electoral units and seek their re-election without let or hindrance.
The bench pointed out that the petitioners had been relieved vide a notification issued under Section 186 of the SLGO, which could be invoked in the event of natural calamity and conditions beyond human control.
The AG said the constituencies or electoral districts that returned the petitioners had ceased to exist following bifurcation. The basic qualification prescribed for eligibility to the office and for continuation in office underwent a change that could not be ignored.
If a person became ineligible or ceased to be voter of the ward he represented, he had to relinquish office. The provincial government only notified his relinquishment.
Advocate Rasheed A. Razvi, the petitioners' counsel, pointed out that the SLGO guaranteed security of tenure to nazims and naib nazims and it could not be curtailed except in the modes and manner provided by the ordinance. The impugned notifcation had no nexus with the objective it sought to achieve.
The AG cited a 1970 Dhaka High Court judgment which declared consequences had to follow reconstitution of an electoral district. Security of tenure could not be pleaded to ward off such consequences.
If the original notification reconstituting a district was valid, subsequent actions taken or required to be taken under it were equally valid, he maintained. The bench adjourned proceedings till Tuesday for further arguments by the AG.
NAZIR APPOINTED: The Sindh High Court on Monday issued notice to Darayus Cryus Minwala and others for Feb 14 in a lawsuit against disposal of Hotel Metropolitan, Karachi and, in the meantime, restrained the defendants to create any third party interest over property in question till next hearing, adds PPI.
Mrs Mehar Rohinton Minwalla, a British national and decree holder who was declared to be beneficially, entitled "not less than 50 per cent of value of hotel and that figure of 7.5 million pound is the absolute minimum for its worth" by a British court on Dec 3, 2004, stated judgment debtor Darayus Cryus Minwala is trying to dispose of assets of hotel to jeopardize right and interest of decree holder in Hotel Metropolitan.
Her counsel Zahid Jamil also sought appointment of Nazir to carry out inspection of property and injunction restraining the defendants from creating any third party interest over property in question. SHC's single bench, comprising Justice Mushir Alam, after preliminary hearing of the application, appointed Nazir for inspection of the hotel.
