• Failing to establish CNS courts under provincial law deprives accused persons of their right to fair trial, rules SHC
• Bench grants bail to actor Sahir in drug case

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday directed the provincial government to immediately establish Special Courts for Control of Narcotic Substances (CNS) across the province and appoint judges expeditiously.

A two-judge constitutional bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha gave this direction while granting bail to actor Sahir Hasan in a drug case.

The bench expressed resentment over the authorities for failing to establish the anti-narcotics courts despite enacting the Sindh Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 2024.

In September 2024, the provincial assembly had passed the CNS law by repealing the CNS Act of 1997 to the extent of Sindh.

The bench observed that applicant Sahir could not be kept in jail for years simply because the government had failed to appoint judges to the CNS courts.

Police had arrested Sahir, son of actor Sajid Hasan, on Feb 22 in the Defence Housing Authority and claimed to have recovered 557 grams of weed from him.

The suspect, through his counsel, invoked the constitutional jurisdiction of the SHC as he was booked under the Sindh CNS Act, but there was no provision of bail in the act.

Initially, the constitutional and regular benches of the SHC had differed over the issue of jurisdiction as to which bench had to hear the petition and thereafter, a larger bench of the SHC had ruled that the petition be heard and decided by a constitutional bench.

After hearing the counsel for the petitioner and acting Prosecutor General Muntazir Mehdi, the bench in its order noted that the petitioner had been arrested under the provincial CNS law.

It said as per Section 35 of the law no bail was to be granted in respect of such kind of offences as Sections 496 and 497 of the criminal procedure code, which deal with grant of bail in bailable and non-bailable offences by sessions courts, had been removed.

The counsel submitted that based on the amount of recovered drug, the sentence under the act would be one to three years in prison with a fine up to Rs100,000, it added.

The bench also noted that in the provincial law provisions of bail were deleted because keeping drugs was a crime against society which especially endangered the youth.

However, it further observed that the amount of recovery in the instant case was relatively small and in such circumstances bail ought to be granted rather than refused. Moreover, the petitioner had been kept in custody for over two months and the trial had not been commenced yet.

“The reason why no charge has yet been framed against the petitioner is because, as admitted by the acting prosecutor general, no court and even no judge has been appointed for special courts as prescribed under the act of 2024. Under these circumstance it means that the applicant may be kept in jail for years before his trial even commences, simply because the government has failed to appoint judges to the special court,” it added.

The bench observed that it was completely unacceptable situation and depriving the petitioner of his fundamental rights including to expeditious trial which under the provincial law should be completed in six months.

“In this case there is no judge and no trial as indictment has not been made yet and there were five prosecution witnesses,” it said, granting bail against a surety bond of Rs1 million.

The court directed the petitioner to attend the trial court on each and every hearing once the court was functional.

The bench also stated that as per acting prosecutor general, the special courts to try such offences under the 2024 law had not been established yet despite having exclusive jurisdiction to try such offences. “Not only this, but the government has not even appointed any presiding officer to act as judge of the special court,” it said.

“Accordingly, a copy of this order shall be sent to the chief secretary and secretary law, government of Sindh, who shall ensure that special courts under the aforesaid Act are established immediately and the judges for such courts shall be appointed in accordance with law expeditiously so that these cases be tried and the petitioner and others may not be left languishing in jail without any recourse,” the bench ruled.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2025