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KARACHI, May 19: The Sindh High Court issued a show-cause notice to the respondent father for May 27 in a contempt application moved by the petitioner mother seeking custody of their 18-month-old son.
Petitioner Saadia has come from the US to seek custody of her son, Hamza, from his father, Khurram Shehzad Qureshi. Justice Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, who first heard the petition, passed a detailed order in order to enable the estranged couple to reach a settlement without outside interference.
The judge also asked the respondent father to arrange regular meetings between Saadia and Hamza. The couple could not resolve their differences and Saadia approached the court with a complaint that she was not being allowed to see her child in violation of the court order. The petition was, meanwhile, transferred to another judge because of the non-availability of Justice Jaffery.
The contempt application, filed through Advocate Khwaja Naveed Ahmed, alleged that Hamza was not brought to the Sindh Club on May 14, 15 and 16 for meetings with Saadia from 12 noon to 2 pm as directed by the court.
It said an associate of the respondent's counsel, M. Ilyas Khan, told the petitioner's counsel on May 14 that Hamza was unwell and had been admitted to South City Hospital.
It also alleged that the petitioner was humiliated by her in-laws when she went to see her child in hospital. She found Hamza 'perfectly normal' in the hospital room. The contempt application came up for hearing before Justice Ataur Rahman on Wednesday.
Khurram was present and denied the allegations. He said he had no objection if the petitioner visited his residence to meet Hamza. Saadia expressed her apprehension that she would be maltreated if she went to the house of her in-laws.
Khurram's counsel sought time to file a reply and court fixed May 27 for hearing of the application along with the main petition. Advocate Naheeda Mehboob Elahi appeared for Saadia on Wednesday.
POLICE STATION: A division bench of the Sindh High Court directed the Orangi police on Wednesday to halt the construction of a police station on a plot allegedly reserved for a hospital.
A division bench, comprising Justices Shabbir Ahmed and Khilji Arif Hussain, also asked the provincial and city government counsel to produce the layout plan of Orangi Town and address arguments on the question of conversion of an amenity plot into a police station on the next date, which is to be fixed by office.
Petitioner-lawyer Afaque Khan Shahid submitted that the 27,000- square-yard plot in sector 4-E of Orangi Town was handed over to the provincial health department for construction of a 50-bed hospital.
The federal government had sanctioned a grant of Rs 5 million but the police department occupied the plot in May 2000 and demolished its boundary wall. The department earmarked the plot for construction of the Mominabad police station.
A petition was moved and the high court stayed the construction work in October 2000. The department, he complained, has resumed the construction of police station.
BAIL PLEA: A division bench of the SHC comprising Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro on Wednesday dismissed a constitutional petition filed by Pir Deedar Ahmed Sarhindi, seeking release in an accountability reference, adds APP.
