April 15, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 8, 1429

KARACHI, April 14: The Sindh High Court on Monday withdrew its notification conferring unrestricted pecuniary jurisdiction on the senior civil judges of Karachi in keeping with the practice elsewhere in Pakistan.

The jurisdiction of the city’s senior civil judges was confined to the matters involving up to Rs3 million. If the subject matter of a suit exceeded Rs3 million, it was to be heard by the high court in exercise of its original civil jurisdiction.

The notification was opposed by senior lawyers and Bar representatives. They are understood to have met a senior SHC judge for the re-imposition of the pecuniary limit on the senior civil judges and the SHC decided to withdraw the notification.

Meanwhile, members of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), the Sindh Bar Council (SBC) and the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHBC) on Monday visited the Malir Bar Association, which had come under arson attack on April 9.

PBC members Rasheed A. Razvi and Yasin Khan Azad, SBC members Salahuddin Gandapur and Khalil Dogar, and SHCBA office-bearers expressed solidarity with the MBA members, and said the April 9 incidents had bolstered the lawyers’ resolve to continue their movement for the reinstatement of deposed judges and establishment of the rule of law.

They assured the MBA president and SBC member, Ghulam Nabi Shaikh, who has started an indefinite hunger strike for institution of an inquiry into the April 9 incidents and punishment to those involved in them, of their full support.

Mr Razvi, made a personal donation of Rs100,000 for early commencement of repairs of the damaged MBA premises.

Order reserved

An appellate bench of the Sindh High Court comprising Justice Qaiser Iqbal and Justice Syed Mahmood Alam Rizvi on Monday reserved its order on a bail plea filed by an official of the Board of Revenue, Muhammad Hussain, in a land scam case, APP adds.

The applicant/accused, along with 10 other co-accused, was booked in a case of illegal allotment of farmland to certain influential figures, instead of the deserving landless peasants.

According to the petitioner, the National Accountability Bureau (Nab) had received a complaint against SP, Thatta, Altaf Hussain Bhatti, who got 406.26 acres of land allotted by misusing his official position. After an investigation into the matter, 11 persons, including the DIG, were charge-sheeted. They included the applicant, Mohammad Hussain, Mohammad Usman Memon, Chandi Ram, Haji M. Thaheem, Noor Ahmed Manghi, Tola Ram, Mohammad Usman Memon and Ali Ahmed Bhatti.

The applicant’s counsel submitted to the court that three of the co-accused had been granted bail, and since no loss was caused to the national exchequer, the applicant on the grounds of consistency, was entitled to bail.

The bench, after hearing the Nab counsel and the defence counsel, reserved its order on the bail plea.

SC notice in poll plea

A Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Mohammad Moosa K. Leghari and Justice Syed Zawwar Hussain Jafferi on Monday issued notices to respondents — the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), deputy attorney general and Mir Hasan Khoso — in a leave to appeal filed by a PML-Q leader, Dr Sohrab Sarki, against a Sindh High Court division bench order.

The petitioner impugned the SHC judgment in which the court had refused to interfere in the issue of re-polling at 27 polling stations of PS-15 Shikarpur.

Mir Hassan Khoso of the Pakistan People’s Party was declared elected from the constituency after applicant/petitioner Dr Sohrab Sarki of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q boycotted the re-polling ordered by the Election Commission.