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KARACHI, Oct 15: The postal department on Wednesday assured the victims of a 40-million-rupee fraud in the city courts post office on Wednesday that all their genuine claims would be satisfied.
Appearing before a division bench, comprising Justices Mohammad Roshan Essani and Gulzar Ahmed, senior postal and savings department officers, however, questioned the authenticity of a number of documents annexed by the victims in their petitions.
The main culprit in the case, who has already been booked, was a retired official apparently receiving deposits and issuing fake receipts at the post office.
He had cordial relations with a number of lawyers and other depositors and exploited his goodwill to deceive them. About 295 lawyers are among victims of his deceit.
The petitioners say that the postal and savings departments cannot avoid their responsibility and escape their liability because the culprit worked in the post office and acted as its regular employee. Deputy Attorney-General Syed Zaki Mohammad assured the court that the federal government would do its best to have the claims settled amicably. Further proceedings were adjourned to Nov 11.
TASMAN SPIRIT: The hearing of the insurance companies’ suit against the wrecked oil tanker Tasman Spirit and its owners was, meanwhile, adjourned by Justice Ataur Rahman after arguments by the plaintiffs’ counsel, Barrister Qazi Faez Isa. The counsel argued that the defendants were guilty of negligence when they allowed the huge tanker carrying 67,000 tonnes of oil to enter the harbour channel in the absence of a high tide. The requisite depth was not there on July 27 and the ship got stuck up. Another huge ship Endeavour-II was sent by the defendants on July 31.
Lighterage vessel Fair Jolly, he contended, was belatedly inducted on Aug 7 to transfer oil from Tasman Spirit to Endeavour-II. It could carry only 8,000 tonnes of oil. It took about 30 hours for a return trip. Had three salvage vessels been commissioned, leakage would have been considerably reduced. He reiterated that Tasman Spirit and Endeavour-II belonged to the same owners and produced photographs showing identical markings on their funnels or smoke stacks to substantiate his claim. It was not a coincidence that the owners of the two ships had engaged the same law firm to defend them in the suit, the counsel argued.
SHARMA CASE: The division bench, comprising Justices Roshan Essani and Gulzar Ahmed, issued notice to a deputy attorney-general in a contempt application filed by human rights activist Krishan Sharma’s mother. The applicant said his son’s custody with the military authorities was declared unlawful by another division bench in August but he had neither been released nor handed over to a civilian agency. She also requested the court to order Sharma’s release on bail.
Sharma had been held incommunicado since his arrest by a Rangers squad in March.
According to a statement submitted by the army’s judge advocate-general branch, he was held for espionage under the Official Secrets Act for drawing sketches of military installations and was awaiting court-martial.
