LARKANA, Aug 21: The Sindh High Court’s circuit bench on Tuesday fined the provincial secretary of the Board of Revenue Rs10,000 for delay in filing comments on the rationale behind the separation of four Dehs of Ratodero taluka from opposition leader Benazir Bhutto’s constituency NA-207.

The bench, comprising Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Justice Syed Sajjad Ali Shah, asked the secretary to appear on the next hearing on Sept 21 and ordered him and the Larkana district revenue officer to file comments in a month.

The bench issued the orders during the hearing of a petition filed by Aijaz Leghari, who stated that the four dehs — Shadi Agham, Panjo Kinnaro, Salar Bhutto and Rahooja of Bahman and Pir Bakhsh Bhutto union councils — had been separated from Ratodero taluka and included in Garhi Yasin taluka of Shikarpur district without taking into confidence local public representatives.

District Revenue Officer Syed Muhsin Ali Shah requested the court for more time to file comments. The bench questioned his authority to include the four dehs in Garhi Yasin without inviting public objections or publicising the move. “Whom did you want to please by doing this?” the court asked. “The petition was filed on July 5, 2005 but you have not yet filed comments,” said the court.

Petitioner’s lawyer Ayaz Soomro said that the then nazim and naib nazim of Larkana district had objected to the move and said that the Dehs’ separation from Ms Bhutto’s constituency would affect her vote bank.