KARACHI, Feb 28: The Sindh High Court asked the inspector-general of police on Tuesday to ascertain the whereabouts of a ‘missing’ brother of a convicted activist of the outlawed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.
A division bench, comprising Justices Ghulam Rabbani and Mrs Qaiser Iqbal, was hearing a petition of Ms Mah Bibi against confinement of her son, Mohammad Anwar, elder brother of convict Gul Hasan, by the jail authorities.
The petitioner submitted that Anwar was arrested by police on June 29, 2002, in three cases, but was either acquitted or released on bail by competent courts in September 2004. She alleged that the jail authorities were not releasing him despite court orders and were keeping him in prison by making false entries.
The jail authorities denied the allegations in their comments submitted in response to a court order. They said Anwar was released from jail on Feb 25 after confirmation of grant of bail by a court.
The petitioner’s counsel, Mushtaq Ahmed, however, said Anwar had not returned home and expressed the fear that might have been rearrested. He requested the court to direct the IGP to submit his comments on the whereabouts of the ‘missing’ person.
Issuing notice to the IGP for March 8, the bench asked him to ascertain his whereabouts.
HOARDINGS: The Sindh High Court asked the city district government on Tuesday to remove all publicity hoardings that obstructed the view of hospitals, clinics, schools, colleges and other such institutions.
A petitioner submitted through Advocate Ikram Ahmed Ansari that a hoarding had been installed at Ibne Sina Dawakhana at Ayesha Manzil in the Federal ‘B’ Area. The lawyer said besides partially hiding the dispensary, it created traffic confusion. He referred to newspaper reports, saying a number of people had fallen victim to hoardings in various city areas.
A city government official informed the division bench seized of the petition that the CDGK had already launched a campaign against the hazardous billboards and the educational and medical institutions had been cleared of the nuisance.
DHA restrained: The Defence Housing Authority was restrained by the Sindh High Court on Tuesday from taking any action in respect of an amenity plot allotted in 1991.
Plaintiff M. Murtaza submitted through Advocates Mushtaq A. Memon and Abid S. Zuberi that he was allotted a 2000-square-yard plot in Phase VIII of the DHA in 1991 for construction of ‘Marina Club’. Private parties were allowed to develop amenity plots in the vicinity of Creek Club.
The plaintiff said he had paid a considerable amount for allotment in 1991 but was issued a notice by the DHA in January 2006 that it intended to ‘readjust’ the plot.
Justice Munib Ahmed Khan issued the DHA a notice in the suit for March 8 and ordered status quo in the meanwhile.
APPEAL ALLOWED: A division bench, meanwhile, allowed a ballpoint manufacturing concern’s appeal against a single judge’s order forbidding it use the word ‘crystal’ to describe its product.
M/s Tri-Star Industries said a rival concern instituted a suit alleging that it infringed the plaintiff’s trade mark by using ‘crystal’ for its pens. A single judge restrained it from using the word in 2001.
The appellant said ‘crystal’ was an adjective used to describe the transparency of pens. It has been common to the trade for 50 years and was not a ‘patented invention’ of any particular manufacturer. The pens manufactured by the two concerns were completely different and could not be passed off for one another. The trademark had not yet been registered, the appellant concerned said.
The court set aside the impugned order thereby allowing the use of word ‘crystal’ by the appellant for the pens made by it.
