KARACHI, Feb 19: A division bench of the High Court of Sindh, comprising Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice S. Ali Aslam Jafri, recommended on Tuesday to the Chief Justice of the High Court to take administrative action against an additional district and sessions judge, Kandiyaro, Imam Dino Bhutto.
The court was hearing a constitutional petition filed by Ali Mohammed Soomro and Abdul Lateef, Nazim and Naib Nazim, respectively, of Union Council Seeta Road, District Dadu, against ADJ Imam Dino Bhutto and others, including Mohammed Ali Solangi and Umeed Ali, candidates for the posts of Nazim and Naib Nazim.
According to the petitioners, they were elected Nazim and Naib Nazim, but their election was challenged by M. Ali Solangi and Umeed Ali before an election tribunal at Naushehro Feroz. The challengers during proceedings of the election petition conceded that if recounting was made for three polling booths, the fate of the elections petition can be decided.
The tribunal then entrusted recounting to the senior civil judge, Seeta Road. The petitioners were declared successful after the recounting.
The matter was then placed before ADJ Kandiyaro Imam Dino Bhutto who declared 50 votes polled in favour of the petitioners votes polled in favour of the challengers. The petitioners impugned this order of the ADJ Kandiyaro before the SHC.
When the matter came up for hearing, the ADJ Kandiyaro was also present. He was asked to explain the reason for acting beyond his jurisdiction and undue favour to the two respondents.
As the court was not satisfied with the reply given by ADJ Imam Dino Bhutto, it recommended administrative action against him.
The court also allowed the constitutional petition setting aside the order of the election tribunal against the petitioners.
Amir Hani Muslim represented the petitioners and Nawaz Shaikh the respondents.
Another bench of the SHC, comprising Justice S. A. Rabbani, granted bail to an applicant Syed Marghoob Hassan against a surety of Rs0.2 million.
APPEALS: An appellate bench of the Sindh High Court fixed Feb 26 as the date of hearing the appeals of nine activists of the Sipah-i- Sahaba Pakistan, challenging their death sentence awarded by an STA court on a charge of killing seven persons during a robbery in Karachi in 1995.
When hearing began on Tuesday, Barrister Azizullah Shaikh, appearing for the appellants, started arguments before a division bench comprising Justice Ghulam Nabi Soomro and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani. — APP/PPI