January 18, 2006	Wednesday	Zilhaj 17, 1426

KARACHI, Jan 17: The Sindh High Court decreed on Tuesday a sum of Rs4.78 million against the owners and the driver of a recklessly-driven truck that overran and killed a motorcyclist.

Mohammad Naveed, 27, was killed by a truck on Napier Road in November 2000. He left behind, besides a widow, four minor daughters and his parents, who were dependent on him.

The legal heirs filed a suit for damages amounting to Rs 5.5 million against the owners and driver of the truck for the losses suffered by them on various counts through Advocate Nasir Maqsood. The defendant owners did not join in the proceedings and the case was heard and decided ex parte.

Justice Qaiser Iqbal observed in her judgment that the fact of accident and rash driving was also proved by a first information report registered by the Napier police station.

The owners were liable to pay adequate compensation to the dependent legal heirs under the Fatal Accidents Act. Taking the relevant factors into account, she assessed the damages payable to the plaintiffs at Rs 47,80,420.

BAIL CONFIRMED: A division bench, comprising Justices Mohammad Afzal Soomro and Rehmat Hussain Jafri, confirmed the interim bail granted to Shikarpur Taluka nazim Zafar Ali Sheikh and 15 others booked for firing rockets and bullets with launchers and Kalashnikov rifles at a police party that went to ’Shaikh Farms’ at Shikarpur to arrest former revenue minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh and others in November last year.

Advocate Fareed Ahmed Dayo argued that the incident is alleged to have occurred at night and the accused could not have possibly identified. A heavy and well-equipped contingent is said to have raided the farm and it could not have been deterred by people present at the farm. The accused have been nominated on suspicion and for their political affiliation.

Meanwhile, hearing of a petition moved by Imtiaz Shaikh and his brother, Maqbool Shaikh, against their arrest and registration of cases against them without the high court’s permission was adjourned by another division bench comprising Justices Ghulam Rabbani and Zia Pervez to Jan 24.

The petitioners alleged that they were being victimized by the chief minister and requested the court to entrust the investigation of pending cases against them to a federal agency.

PLEA DISMISSED: Justice Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui, meanwhile, dismissed an application for compulsory winding up of M/s Spectrum Fisheries. A bank sued for liquidation of the private company for its failure to pay Rs 165 million in outstanding syndicated loan.

Dismissing the application, the judge observed that it was filed by an unauthorized and was liable to be dismissed without going into merits. Citing Supreme Court rulings, Advocate Ahmed Hasan Rana earlier argued that a liquidation application moved by an unauthorized was not maintainable. He also contested the outstanding liability.

‘DETAINEE’ RETURNS: A division bench comprising Justices Ghulam Rabbani and Zia Pervez dismissed as withdrawn a petition for recovery and production of a Gwadar landowner and his cousin. According to Khadija Bibi, her husband, Brahim Saleh, and his cousin Farooq went to a Mauripur bank for obtaining a draft on Nov 29, 2005, and went missing along with their car and the amount. She expressed the apprehension that they might have been picked up by a law enforcement agency.

The bench was informed on Tuesday that Farooq had since returned and desired withdrawal of the petition. The bench dismissed the petition as withdrawn with permission to the petitioner to file a new petition should her spouse remain untraced.

ADJOURNED: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of an appeal filed by an activist of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi against their conviction in sectarian killing case after partially hearing the arguments of appellants’ counsel, adds PPI.

Attaullah and Mohammad Riaz were sentenced to death by anti- terrorism court in Karachi on July 6, 2004, having found them guilty of murdering video shop owner Kazim Hussain Shah and injuring two others in Mehmoodabad in March 2002.

Initiating arguments, appellants’ counsel M.R Syed read paper book of the case and contended that his clients were falsely implicated. He was on his legs as the court time was over.

SHC’s division bench, comprising Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, adjourned hearing till Jan 18.

Stay continues: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday continued suspension of Monopoly Control Authority order regarding directives to cement manufacturers to bring down prices to the level of January-March 2003.

SHC’s division bench, comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Mohammad Athar Saeed, was hearing identical appeals of Fecto, Dewan and other cement companies against the order of the MCA.

Mohammad Aijab Khan, Joint Registrar of the MCA, requested time for engaging counsel in the matter on behalf of the MCA. The court, granting the request, fixed the matter for Feb 15. In meantime, the interim order passed earlier shall remain valid till the next date of hearing.

Petitioners stand was that the cement industry, including government run companies, borne loss of Rs790 million during January-March 2003 and if such a decision were upheld, the entire industry would suffer losses.

They submitted that the Monopoly Control Authority had no powers to fix prices of cement and its order be declared void and with no legal effect.

The MCA had ordered the cement manufacturers to break the cartel and reduce ex-factory prices of cement and desist from indulging in restrictive trade practices and cartel-like behaviour, in future.