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KARACHI, Aug 29: The Sindh High Court asked judicial magistrates on Wednesday not to pass remand orders mechanically without satisfying them that the police officer has a prima facie case for investigating commission of an offence.
The order was passed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Faisal Arab while disposing of a petition alleging unlawful custody of Arif Siddiqui. Police said Arif was arrested in a narcotics case registered at Zaman Town and was duly remanded in its custody by a judicial magistrate of District East.
Arif, who was produced on a court order, said he was arrested in an FIR alleging that he was carrying ‘80 kilograms of charas on a motorcycle’. He was picked up on July 17 but was shown to have been arrested on July 26. The judicial magistrate, who remanded him for 14 days at one go, paid no attention to his statement and accepted the investigation officer’s request.
The bench ordered Arif’s release on bail in the sum of Rs50,000. The deputy inspectors-general were asked to properly supervise the investigations in their remit and the DIG concerned in the instant case was asked to initiate appropriate departmental proceedings against the investigation officer.
The judicial magistrates were asked to satisfy them of the legality and propriety of requests for physical and judicial remand. They should, in particular, see whether the date of arrest in police record was the same as the date of actual arrest. If there is discrepancy, the case should be sent to the advocate-general’s office for scrutiny by a responsible law officer.
The bench heard the special health secretary and assistant inspector-general of prisons in suo motu proceedings on the prevalence of hepatitis ‘B’ and ‘C’ among convicts and undertrial prisoners. The proceedings have been initiated on a report by Justice Amir Hani Muslim, who visited Khairpur jail in February. The judge said in his report that 131 out of 719 prisoners suffered from either type of hepatitis. Twenty-seven of the released prisoners also suffered from the disease. Their blood samples were sent to Lahore, which alone has laboratory facility. A report from Lahore was received after five months.
The court issued notices to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council and the College of Physicians and Surgeons for expert opinion but they failed to put in appearance on Wednesday. The heath secretary and the AIG (prisons) responded to the court notice. The bench appointed Advocate Qazi Faez Isa amicus curiae in the case and on his suggestion also issued a notice to Dr Nasim Salahuddin, head of the infectious diseases department, Liaquat National Hospital.
The bench was informed that the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis were quite expensive. The polymer chain reaction test, which was necessary for diagnosis, cost anything from Rs2,500 to Rs4,000 and the treatment might run into Rs100,000 or more.
The bench ordered the production of Mohammad Shahid, who was allegedly mistaken for proclaimed offender Mashhoq Brohi’s brother. Supervisory police officer of Clifton appeared on Wednesday and told the bench that Shahid was not in custody of any police station in the town. He has written to other police officers and SHOs for further information. Appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Adnan Karim submitted that no case had been registered against the detainee in any police station and his custody was patently unlawful.
The bench directed Assistant Advocate-General Abdul Jabbar Lakho to establish contact with all provincial agencies and arrange Shahid’s production on Sept 10.
