KARACHI, Feb 24: A division bench of the Sindh High Court dismissed on Friday a writ petition moved by Mir Ghalib Khan Domki, who was returned to the National Assembly from Jacobabad but whose election was declared null and void due to reports of widespread rigging.
The petitioner, who contested elections from NA-210 (Jacobabad-III) submitted through Advocate Raza Hashmi that he was first declared elected by Election Commission but the by-election was later declared null and void without affording any opportunity of hearing to him. No inquiry was held into the allegations of rigging and the unusually massive turnout was considered sufficient to cancel the poll.
Advocate Mehmood Alam Rizvi, standing counsel for the federation and EC, stated that according to the data collected, polling percentage at 172 polling stations ranged from 50 to 99 per cent, which was ‘unbelievable’.
He said the District Returning Officer, an additional district and sessions judge, in his report had stated that when he visited a women polling station, 300 votes were polled whereas no woman was seen present at the polling station.
Similar irregularities were reported from other polling stations and the election commission was compelled to declare the election null and void. There were proofs of massive rigging, he said.
The bench, which consisted of Justices Ghulam Rabbani and Zia Pervez,had reserved order on Wednesday. It dismissed the petition by a short order on Friday. A fresh by-election in the constituency is scheduled for tomorrow (Feb 25) to fill the seat, which fell vacant due to the election of the incumbent as district nazim of the newly-created district of Kashmore.
RESTRAINED: A Sindh High Court division bench restrained a builder on Friday from raising further construction on his plot in Block-4 of Nazimabad.
The builder had the Karachi Building Control Authority’s approval for a ground-plus-two-floor residential bungalow as permissible in the area. However, he raised a ground-plus-three-floor structure consisting of flats. When the KBCA issued a demolition notice, he obtained a stay order.
The KBCA submitted its comments on Friday and informed the court that the stay order was obtained by the petitioner by misrepresentation. The authority requested the court to vacate the stay and restrain the builder from raising further construction and from creating third party interest.
A division bench, comprising Justices Zawwar Hussain Jaffery and Maqbool Baqar, passed a restraint order against the builder and fixed Feb 28 for hearing of the KBCA plea for demolition of the unauthorized building.
ACQUITTED: An appellate bench of Sindh High Court allowed an appeal moved by a convict in a murder case, set aside his sentence and acquitted him of the charge.
Dur Mohammad moved the court through Advocate A.Q. Halepota against his conviction and the life imprisonment awarded to him by a sessions court on charge of killing Younus on Dec 27, 1985, in the jurisdiction of Kalakot police station, Karachi.
Arguing the appeal, the counsel submitted that the appellant was the first to reach police station 15 minutes after the incident in injured condition and handed a revolver to police stating that deceased fired at him with the revolver and that in retaliation he fired at Younus with a shotgun. Younus succumbed to his injuries a day after the incident.
The bench, which consisted of Justices Mohammad Afzal Soomro and Rehmat Hussain Jafri, held in its short order that the appellant fired in self-defence and could not, therefore, be charged with culpable homicide. Two co-accused in the case, Mohammad Sharif and Hasan, were declared absconders.
