KARACHI, Dec 27: The Sindh High Court admitted on Monday a writ petition challenging the removal of four district nazims and naib nazims and issued notices to the advocate-general and other respondents for Dec 30.

Notices in an application for suspension of the impugned notification of Dec 22 sacking the nazims and naib nazims of Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Dadu and Jacobabad and replacing them with their respective district coordination officers were also issued for the same date by a vacation division bench, comprising Justices Wahid Bux Brohi and Mushir Alam.

The petitioners, Khursheed Ahmed Junejo of Larkana, Pir Shafqat Shah Jilani of Mirpurkhas, Malik Asad Sikandar Khan of Dadu and Mir Shabbir Khan Bijarani of Jacobabad and naib nazims Nazir Ahmed Bhugio of Larkana and M. Mohammad Yunus of Mirpurkhas, submitted through Advocate Rasheed A. Razvi that there was no provision in the Sindh Local Government Ordinance for premature removal or replacement of nazims or naib nazims, except in circumstances beyond human control, such as natural calamity or death.

A vacancy may also occur due to resignation or recall under the provisions of the ordinance. The law, he said, mandated the nazims and naib nazims to serve the term they had been elected for.

The bench first allowed an application for an urgent hearing during the winter recess, granted exemption from production of certain documents and waived the office objection that the petition suffered from misjoinder of six petitioners, who had paid separate court fees.

Observing that the point raised merited consideration, it admitted the petition to regular hearing on Dec 30 and issued notices to the AG, the provincial local government department, the National Reconstruction Bureau and other respondents.

Advocate Razvi earlier argued that the petitioners had been removed on the ground of bifurcation of their districts and creation of new ones. Earlier this year, however, the Balochistan district of Chaghai was bifurcated without any change in the district government.

Five new districts of Naushki, Jafarabad, Moosakhel, Barrkhan and Bolan were created in the province without removal or replacement of nazims. The petitioners reserved their right to challenge the creation of new districts, but even if they were lawfully constituted, the removal of the petitioners was illegal and unconstitutional.

The SLGO and the Sindh Local Government Election Order, the counsel argued, had been given overriding effect and while the Sindh Land Revenue Act empowered the provincial government to establish new districts, the creation of new administrative units could not disturb the already demarcated electoral areas till new demarcation.

Electoral constituencies were to retain their status till the completion of their tenure by the incumbent nazims and naib nazims. No caretaker setup could be inducted under the law.

According to information received by the petitioners, the lawyer contended, the federal government was against the removal decision and the NRB had sought a report on it from the competent authority.