KARACHI, Jan 29: A division bench of the Sindh High Court reserved judgment on Tuesday in an alleged corruption case registered under section 145 of CrPC against former Sindh minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and others.

The bench comprised Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany.

Rashid A. Rizvi, representing Mr Shah, had contended that all the six FIRs lodged at Artillery Maidan police station in Karachi were without jurisdiction and mala fide as the offences alleged therein were scheduled offences and some of them pertained to the Ehtesab Act of 1997 and the NAB Ordinance of 1999, for which references were to be filed by NAB.

Under such circumstances, a local police station was not competent to lodge FIR. The petitioner being a public servant a preliminary inquiry was to be held and prior approval was to be obtained before the registration of the FIRs.

On the competency of the High Court to interfere with investigation, reliance was placed on the case of Shahnaz Begum (PLD 1971 SC 677), Behram D. Avari (NLR 1989 Cr 460) and Mian Hamza Shahbaz (NLR 1998 Cr 103).

Mr Rizvi further contended that there was no provision for transfer of FIR from one police station to another when both police stations were established under two different laws. Several judgments of the superior court were cited and it was pleaded that all FIRs be quashed.

Nawaz Shaikh, representing Amanullah Pathan, managing director SASO, Bashir Ahmed Shah, Director SASO, and Ghulam Haider Arain, Director SASO, connected with the case, in his written argument submitted before the court maintained that the FIRs against his clients were false, fabricated and invented just to humiliate and drag the petitioners into false cases without any valid, legal and cogent justification.

He cited Rule 13 of the Sindh Inquiries and Anti-corruption Rules 1993, under which only the Anti-corruption Establishment (ACE) could register a criminal case against a public servant, in respect of commission of scheduled offence.

He claimed that no permission was accorded by the competent authority, so the FIRs had no legal effect. He, therefore, said the continuation of proceedings against them was illegal and should be quashed.

Raja Qureshi, the advocate-general Sindh, had earlier argued that the local police after registration of the cases referred them to ACE for investigation, when they came to know that the cases were against government servants. Hence no irregularity was made.

It was also argued that it was not binding on police to get prior permission from any authority before registration of the cases. This binding was upon the Anti-corruption Police. He also contended that it was not necessary for the competent authority to hold inquiry before registration of the case.

He contended that the allegations were of serious nature as they included misappropriation of government funds.

When the court announced its decision to reserve judgment, the state was represented by AAG Sindh Mr Lodhi.