LAHORE, July 20: Justice Mian Hamid Farooq of the Lahore High Court on Thursday restrained the Punjab chief minister from appointing more advisers to himself or his government and also stopped the provincial chief secretary from issuing notification of such appointments till the final decision of a petition which challenged the appointment of advisers.
The court issued this order while taking a strict notice of the appointment of Muhammad Iqbal Khan Khakwani as another adviser to the chief minister during the pendency of the petition. It observed that the appointment of Khakwani, notified on April 2, 2006, was completely in defiance, disregard and disrespect to the court which was adjudicating an identical matter.
The law officer representing the Punjab government submitted that no injunctive order had been passed restraining the government from making further appoints of advisers. However, he admitted that the government should have waited for the decision of the case as a mark of respect to the court.
The court observed it was unfortunate that the Punjab chief minister had himself issued the order for the appointment of Khakwani as another adviser and thus attempted to lower the prestige, dignity and honour of the court.
Earlier in the day, the court summoned all the advisers and special assistants in the Punjab on July 26. Their lists were submitted by the additional advocate-general. The court is seized with a constitutional petition of Maulana Shah Ahmad Khan, a khateeb of a mosque in Nawan Kot, challenging the appointment of advisers of both the Punjab government and chief minister.
The court has already suspended the notifications of Mian Munir and Akhter Rasool as advisers and directed the chief secretary to withdraw their privileges and perks. The petitioner had challenged that Mian Munir and Akhter Rasool were not eligible for the office as they had been convicted by the Supreme Court in a contempt of court case.
NOTICE: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to the district collector of irrigation department, Gujrat, asking him to explain why should he not be punished for telling a lie in the court and further making a false and irresponsible statement without consulting the relevant record.
Comprising Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday and Justice Raja Muhammad Fayyaz, the court was proceeding On a petition for leave to appeal filed by the Punjab government against an agriculturist of Gujrat, Barkat
Ali, who was aggrieved by the revenue department for receiving abiana from him and the irrigation department was not providing him water for cultivation.
The deputy collector irrigation submitted in the court in his earlier appearance that his department was providing water to Barkat Ali. When the court asked as to how he made this statement without consulting the record about the quantity of irrigation water supplied, the collector had no answer. To another query, he submitted that he had not yet consulted the record and that the record of the area concerned was not available. When the court asked as to why he had made a false statement and wasted the court’s time, the official had no answer.
The bench then issued him a notice to explain his position. The collector later filed a written apology. However, the court adjourned further hearing till Friday with a direction to the respondent to produce record in the court.
WARRANTS: The Lahore High Court has issued non-bailable warrants of arrest of the Lower Mall SHO for failing to appear in the proceedings of a petition which sough the quashment of an FIR.
The court also directed the SP City to produce the SHO who was twice directed to appear and failed each time.
Petitioner Altaf Noor had moved the court for the quashment of an FIR which the SHO registered on the charge of recovering an illegal weapon from his car.