November 13, 2008	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 14, 1429

KARACHI, Nov 12: A division bench of the High Court of Sindh (SHC) on Wednesday issued notices to respondents for Nov 19 in a case of encroachment of a plot adjacent to a police station.

The petition was filed by Shahid Ali against the district officer (revenue), Katchi Abadi Authority, Wasiuddin, and the SHO of the Shahrah-i-Noor Jehan police station.

The petitioner maintained that he was the rightful owner of plot No 155, Usman Ghani Colony, measuring 299.66 square yards. The plot was transferred in his name after the completion of legal formalities and mutated in his name.

The petitioner maintained that when he reached the spot, officials of the Shahrah-i-Noor Jehan police station, adjacent to the plot, obstructed him on a number of grounds and later came up with the pretext that the plot was in the name of respondent Wasiuddin.

The court was requested to intervene and get the plot vacated with a peaceful transfer of possession to the petitioner.

The SHO of the police station was present in court. The court, however, adjourned further hearing, issuing notices to the other respondents for Nov 19.

Bail in narcotics case

A division bench of the Sindh High Court, consisting of Justice Mrs Qaisar Iqbal and Justice Mehmood Alam Rizvi, on Wednesday granted bail to a former excise and taxation officer in a narcotics case.

According to the prosecution, Ashraf Shaheen was found in possession of five kilograms of hashish and the Anti-Narcotics Force lodged five cases under Section 9-C of the Control of Narcotics Substances Act.

A special anti-narcotics court (III) sentenced him to a five-year prison term.

His counsel, Advocate Shaukat Hayat, submitted that the appellant had undergone imprisonment of four years and five months and, therefore, he was entitled to bail.

Special Prosecutor of the ANF Syed Ashraf Hussain Rizvi opposed the bail plea.

The bench, after hearing arguments from both sides, granted bail to the appellant subject to furnishing of solvent surety in the sum of Rs100,000 to the satisfaction of the nazir of the court.

Flour mill case

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Ghulam Dastagir A. Shahni on Wednesday ordered the Sindh Food Department to issue 1,000 wheat bags per month to a flour mill of Kandhkot, Shikarpur.

Nasim Ahmed Soomro, chief executive officer of the Sarang Foods, a roller flour mill operating in the Sindh Small Industrial Estate of Kandhkot, approached the SHC against the secretary and director of the Sindh Food Department and the deputy director of Food, Larkana region.

He submitted that the licence of the mill was cancelled by the respondents to extract more fines.

He prayed to the court to set aside the cancellation order and direct the respondents to supply 3,200 bags per month.

The bench ordered the food department to supply 1,000 bags per month to the mill as earlier ordered, and adjourned the matter till Nov 20 on the petitioner’s request.—APP/PPI