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KARACHI, March 20: The Sindh High Court condoned on Monday about six years’ delay in three murder convicts’ jail appeal and asked the Hyderabad jail authorities to be careful in the future.
The appeal was moved by Mohammad Ismail and two others convicted and jailed for life by a sessions court of Shahdadpur in May 2000 well in time. It was, however, lost in transit and the officials of the Hyderabad jail where they were serving their life imprisonment did not care to pursue the matter and did not ensure that it reached the branch concerned and was duly registered by it. The appellants remained unaware of its fate and contacted an advocate belatedly.
The advocate, Abdul Razak, filed a writ petition setting out the circumstance in which the jail appeal was lost. A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Sain Ali Dino Metlo, heard the petition. AG Anwar Mansoor Khan gave his consent to condone the delay in the circumstances of the case and the appeal was ordered by the bench to be presented afresh.
ORDER SETS ASIDE: The Sindh High Court on Monday set aside an Anti-Terrorism Court’s order pertaining to trial of oil theft cases under the anti-terrorism law, adds PPI.
ATC judge Syed Saghar Hussain Zaidi earlier decided that the offence is triable under ATC as tempering of oil and gas pipelines, oil pilfering fall under Section 6 of Anti-Terrorism Act.
Nawaz and Rafique, with other absconding co-accused Karim, Hasan Ali, Haleem and Nawaz Palari, are charged with breaking government oil supply line in Korangi area and stealing oil from it. PARCO lodged a case against them at Zaman Town police station in 2003.
Against the ATC order, the applicants moved the SHC contending that the offence in which they are charged does not fall under ATA.
