LAHORE, June 4 Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif on Thursday took suo motu notices of three cases.

Firstly, Justice Sharif took a suo motu notice of the gang rape-cum-murder of a 15-year-old girl at the hands of a doctor and other hospital employees at Amin Hospital of Sheikhupura.

The chief justice has summoned the district police officer of Sheikhupura and the station house officer concerned on Friday (today) along with complete record of the case. According to a news report, the girl was raped by Dr Iftikhar Ahmad and others before being administered a poisonous injection. She was the daughter of a widow also employed at the hospital.

Secondly, Justice Sharif took a suo motu notice of the plight of three children whose mother, the widow of a low-paid health department employee, died without receiving her husband's pension even six months after his death.

The chief justice has directed the Punjab health secretary to submit a detailed report within seven days as to why the pension and other dues were not paid to the widow soon after the death of her husband. It was reported in a section of the press that the widow of Mushtaq, a BS-4 employee, died endlessly waiting for the outstanding dues of her husband. Mushtaq died on Jan 21, but his heirs were not given his dues and pension.

Thirdly, Justice Sharif took suo motu notice of the suicide of a security guard who had not received his salary for more than two months and directed the SSP operations to file a report with immediate effect.

According to a news report, Salman Shafiq Butt, 31, brother of two journalists, committed suicide after his employer security agency owned by Col Muhammad Safdar (retired) denied him two-month salary.

The agency had deployed him at a CNG station owned by a PML-N MPA Rana Muhammad Afzal in Hunza Block of Allama Iqbal Town. He began work on April 1, 2009 and continued till May 29, 2009, the day he committed suicide.

LUXURY TAX Justice Maulvi Anwarul Haq of the Lahore High Court has adjourned proceedings on several identical petitions challenging the levy of luxury tax on imported cars.

Thursday's hearing was adjourned because of absence of the attorney general of Punjab. The judge previously provided interim relief to various petitioners and granted stay against the imposition of luxury tax on imported cars of 2000CC and above registered after June 2005 under section 6 of the Punjab Finance Act 2008.

Toyota Garden Motors (Pvt) Limited, M/s Millat Tractors, Sheikhupura Textile Mills and others are party to the petition.

The petitioners' counsel argued that cars like Mercedes and BMW had been exempted from the tax, adding that whether a car was a 'luxury' car or not could not be determined on the engine size alone. He said as the petitioners had already paid tax, the additional tax was illegal and unconstitutional.