KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has dismissed a petition filed against induction of some politicians facing criminal charges and graft inquiries as members of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led cabinet.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed turned down the petition for not being maintainable.

Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi, a regular litigant, petitioned the SHC invoking its writ jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution to impugn the induction of some federal cabinet members.

The petitioner argued that some of the persons being inducted in the cabinet were facing criminal charges and different inquiries in corruption cases being conducted by the anti-graft agencies and thus they could not become federal minister or advisers.

The bench in its order, released on Saturday, said that the petitioner was at a loss to point out any violation of law and the case he advanced was not justifiable under Article 199 of the Constitution.

It further stated that when the bench asked the petitioner about his locus standi and how he could qualified as an aggrieved person in the matter, he merely reiterated that he had come forward in the public interest.

“However, it is well settled that in order to satisfy the requirements of an ‘aggrieved person’ in public interest litigation under Article 199 of the Const­itution, a petitioner is to at least disclose a personal interest in the performance of a legal duty owed to him, which if not performed would result in the loss of some personal benefit or advantage or curtailment of a privilege in liberty or franchise. That element is conspicuously absent in the instant case. As such, it is apparent that the petition is not maintainable, which stands dismissed accordingly,” the bench in its order concluded.

Plea against state visit to KSA

The same bench has also dismissed another petition challenging the state visit of a delegation headed by PM Shehbaz Sharif to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

The same petitioner Naqvi impugned the state visit stating that a large number of people were members of the delegation, which was a waste of the public exchequer.

He sought an investigation as well direction for recovery of the amount being spent on the visit and all members of the delegation to disclose and account for their personal assets.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2022