KARACHI, Feb 26: Sindh High Court Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed transferred on Monday a kidnapping case against former Balochistan chief minister Sardar Akhter Mengal from one anti-terrorism court (ATC) to another.
The accused had moved a transfer application alleging that Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of ATC-V, Karachi, who had already convicted all four of his co-accused employees, was biased against him as evidenced by his remarks in the conviction order.
The CJ, who is empowered under the Anti-Terrorism Act to transfer cases from one ATC to another, transferred the case to ATC-III of Judge Syed Saghir Hussain Zaidi after hearing the defence and prosecution counsel in chamber.
According to the prosecution, a guard, a driver and two other employees of the ex-CM kidnapped two army personnel on surveillance-cum-intelligence duty on April 5, 2006, and took them to his residence in Karachi. They were manhandled in the ex-CM’s presence and one of them lodged a report with police on their release.
According to the defence, the unidentified intelligence personnel were harassing the Mengal family by stalking them and chasing their vehicles.
The employees pleaded innocent and alleged that the case was bogus. Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch convicted them and sentenced them to life imprisonment in December 2006. Meanwhile, the ex-CM, who was declared an absconder, was arrested and arraigned before the judge.
Appearing for the accused, Advocate Azizullah Shaikh relied on an extract from the conviction order of the employees. Referring to the defence’s assertion that the case was fabricated, the order said: “In our society it is not easy for a police officer to try to catch hold of such a prominent political leader and lodge a false FIR, but in the case in hands absconding accused (Akhtar Mengal) did not co-operate/approach the investigation officer in order to prove himself innocent but chose to abscond, leaving an ocean of doubt in respect of his innocence. I am, therefore, constrained not to consider his plea of false involvement.”
The counsel said the observation betrayed the judge’s bias and the case be should transferred to another ATC in the interest of justice.