KARACHI, July 26: The Sindh High Court admitted a petition on Wednesday to look into the preparation of jail rolls by the Central Prison for the purposes of calculating remissions under the legal and constitutional provisions.
Petitioner Majidur Rehman was tried and convicted by a Malir sessions court for attempt to murder in 2001 and was handed down hard labour for 11 years. He was lodged in the Central Prison, Karachi, to serve his term. He challenged his conviction and sentence in the high court by an appeal and moved a petition through Advocate Abdul Razzak for his release. He claimed that if he were allowed remissions under Section 382 of the code of criminal procedure and Article 45 of the Constitution, he should be freed as having served out his jail term.
His counsel contended that the benefit of remissions was curtailed by the jail authorities due to misinterpretation of the relevant provisions of the criminal procedure code and the jail manual rules. The legal provisions had not been properly construed and applied in the petitioner’s case. The bench, which consisted of Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Maqbool Baqar, admitted the petition and issued notice to the respondent authorities for August 23. The jail superintendent was asked to prepare a fresh jail roll in accordance with the manual.
SINDH ALKALIS: Two references were, meanwhile, filed by the SHC official assignee in the Sindh Alkalis case.
One of the reference challenged the transfer of the liquidated concern’s lease to the export processing zone in respect of a parcel of its land. It said any transaction involving Sindh Alkalis’ assets could not be made without the permission of the high court, which has ordered its liquidation at the behest of its employees and shareholders.
The other reference sought extension of the lease granted by the provincial government of another parcel of the concern’s land. The reference said the concern would not fetch adequate price if the lease was not extended. The interested bidders had already gone back on their commitments. Justice Munib Ahmed Khan, who is seized of the matter, issued notices to the parties concerned for a date in office.
HIGHWAYS AS COLLATERALS: The division bench comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Maqbool Baqar also issued notices in a petition questioning the proposed pledging of national highways as security for loans being obtained by the government.
Petitioner Ataullah Shah said highways, railways, airports and other vital installations could only be owned by the federal government and could not be transferred or pawned as security. Loans are obtained against sovereign guarantees on the basis of the country’s creditworthiness and not by offering national assets as collaterals, he said.
