KARACHI, April 4: The Sindh High Court reserved its order on Monday in a suit instituted by a member of the NWFP Assembly against a Karachi University inquiry into his degree and subsequent finding that it was fake. MPA Malik Imran Khan contended that the anti-corruption department had no authority to refer complaints against his educational qualification to the university and the latter was not justified in holding a probe. The action had been taken at the behest of his electoral rivals.
KU counsel Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui said the inquiry was held in good faith and the degree was found to be bogus on the basis of record. No educational institution could allow fake degrees to go unchallenged. The plaintiff was afforded full opportunity to participate in the probe and put up his defence.
Additional Advocate-General Abbas Ali submitted that the anti-corruption department acted on public complaints and referred the matter to the university authorities without taking any action itself. He said the plaintiff had moved the court earlier also but nowhere in his pleadings did he claim that he was a degree holder. He only questioned the inquiry. He merely wanted to prolong the writ proceedings pending against him in the Peshawar High Court, the AAG maintained.
Justice Mushir Alam reserved his judgment for April 12.
BUS ATTACHED: Justice Ataur Rahman, meanwhile, ordered the Saddar police station to attach a bus that ran over and killed a woman, Ms Rasheeda, on Feb 3. The order was requested by the deceased woman’s husband, who has instituted a suit for Rs 4.5 million in damages against the owner of the bus and others under the Fatal Accidents Act.
The plaintiff submitted that the mishap occurred in the Saddar area and the killer vehicle might be taken out of the court’s jurisdiction to frustrate the court decree. The bus was ordered attached till the disposal of the case. The court also directed the excise and taxation department’s registration wing not to allow transfer of the bus to a third party pending the proceedings.
Remand extended: Justice Amir Hani Muslim of the Sindh High Court who is also administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts in Karachi on Monday extended remand of seven arsonists till April 6. They were arrested under arson and rioting charges.
Faizullah, Alamgir, Waris, Anwar, Mohammad Ashraf, Amir Khan and Bashar were produced before the court for extension in their remand. Police charged that the accused ransacked and set on fire KESC vehicles parked at Block North Nazimabad office in the wake of a strike call given by the Ponam on March 31.
The rioters were booked under Section 147, 148, 149, 435, 427 of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Forty-five persons were declared absconders in the FIR registered in Shahrah-i-Noor Jehan police station.
KARO-KARI CASE: The Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid issued a press release here on Monday stating that the District Police Officer (DPO) Thatta once again failed to appear before the Sindh High Court here on Monday in a karo-kari case of Basri, a married woman of Sujawal town, who was termed kari by her husband, and later accused of bigamy.
SHC Judge Afzal Soomro took serious notice of the situation and issued DPO a final notice to appear before the court on April 11 along with the original copies of the first and second Nikahnamas. Basri, belonging to Sujawal, had married Mohammad bin Yousuf Jaskani on March 2004. Her husband had termed her Kari.—PPI
