KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday directed the provincial prosecution department to satisfy it on the maintainability of its appeals against the minor punishments handed down by the drug courts to manufacturers of spurious and fake drugs.

A two-judge bench also issued a notice to the provincial law officer and put off the hearing to April 26.

The Sindh prosecution department, through the prosecutor general, filed the appeals in court challenging the minor punishments awarded by the drug courts to accused persons belonging to different medical stores and drug manufacturing companies.

Nadra DG asked to file reply in contempt case

The petitioner department submitted that the drug court had handed down minor punishments to the accused persons belonging to as many as 94 medical stores and pharmaceutical companies after finding them guilty of making and selling fake medicines.

The judges were informed that the culprits were sentenced only for the period till the court rose.

The prosecution department stated in the appeals that the sale and manufacture of bogus and spurious drugs was a heinous crime and the culprits were not entitled to any relief and they should be awarded strict punishments as they played havoc with peoples’ lives.

It said that the licences of the medical stores and pharmaceutical companies selling and manufacturing bogus medicines should be permanently cancelled.

After the preliminary hearing, the bench directed the petitioner department to forward arguments on the maintainability of the appeals against the sentences awarded by the drug court.

Encroachment on amenity plot

A two-judge bench directed the Nazir (court official) to inspect and file his report on encroachment on an amenity plot in Block 15 of Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

The bench was hearing a petition against the encroachment on the plot which was meant for a public park.

The petitioner counsel informed the judges that several four-storey buildings had been constructed on the plot despite a restraining order by the court on Feb 8, 2013.

He recalled that the SHC had directed the chief secretary to remove the encroachments from the amenity plot while giving a stay order on the construction.

The counsel said that the land grabbers had obtained bogus lease of the land.

The petitioner asked the court to direct the authorities concerned to remove all illegal buildings from the land and restore the park to its previous status.

While adjourning the hearing for five weeks, the bench directed the Nazir to submit a report also informing as to how many houses and buildings were constructed on the said amenity plot.

Notice to Nadra DG issued

Another bench of the high court directed the director general of the National Database and Registration Authority to file its reply on a contempt application filed against him for not issuing a computerised national identity card (CNIC) to a woman despite the court’s directives.

Ms Khadija, through an application, asked the court to initiate contempt proceedings against Nadra director general for flaying its directives of issuing her and her husband Abu Tahir their fresh CNICs.

She informed the judges that the court earlier directed Nadra to renew their CNICs in 2013. She submitted that her husband died during this period; however, her CNIC was not renewed.

The woman asked the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Nadra officials.

The bench put off the hearing to March 30 directing the Nadra DG to explain as to why contempt of court proceeding may not be initiated against him for defiance of the court’s order.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2018