KARACHI, Jan 29: The Sindh High Court adjourned on Thursday hearing of a writ petition seeking replacement of English with Urdu as the country's official language in accordance with a constitutional mandate to enable the provincial government to submit its written comments.

In response to a court direction of Nov 16 last, the respondent establishment division submitted its comments through Deputy Attorney-General Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui. Raising a preliminary objection, the division said the petition was not maintainable for non-joinder of a necessary party, that is, the cabinet division.

The cabinet and not the establishment division, the comments said, was responsible for the enforcement of Urdu as official language under the federal government rules of business. The National Language Authority, which had been set up to adopt measures to give Urdu its constitutional status, also worked under the administrative control of the cabinet division, according to the comments.

On the substantive issue of meeting the deadline under Article 251 of the Constitution, the establishment division submitted that the time-limits set out in the law were mostly directory and not mandatory. Referring to a 1957 Supreme Court judgment, it quoted a passage from Maxwell's Interpretation of Laws saying that timeframe prescribed for doing of an act by a public body or functionary was often directory and 'might be complied with after the prescribed time'. The government was making efforts to carry out the constitutional mandate, it said.

On behalf of the Sindh government, Additional Advocate-General M. Ahmed Pirzada submitted that it was fully conscious of its constitutional obligations. Steps were being taken to replace English with Urdu wherever possible, he added.

The petitioner, Tehsin Ahmad of Digri (Mirpurkhas), however, insisted on written comments by the provincial government. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Ghulam Rabbani, asked the AAG to submit comments in writing and adjourned further hearing to a date in office.