KARACHI, May 6: An execution application seeking implementation of a decree passed by the Sindh High Court awarding compensation of Rs272,000 was allowed by the IInd Senior Civil Judge, Karachi (South), along with 14% annual mark-up on the decretal amount from the date of the decree as well as the cost of the suit.
Nasir Maqsood, counsel for the decree holder, Muhammad Sharif, had filed application with the Sindh High Court against the Pakistan Coast Guards through its director-general and one of their drivers namely Asghar Mehmood.
It was his contention that the plaintiff had suffered injuries to his lower part of the body in a traffic accident on June 28, 1985 when he was run over by a tanker of the Coast Guard (No GP-78) which was being driven by Asghar Mehmood.
It was claimed that injuries on the lower body had left him in an impotent state, and the traumatic injuries were caused on account of negligence, default, rashness of the driver of the Coast Guard, and the defendants were liable to pay the compensation of Rs2,500,000, jointly and severally.
The suit was decreed in favour of the plaintiff, Muhammad Sharif, by a single judge of the High Court, Justice Abdul Latif Qureshi (now deceased), on April 2, 1995 for a sum of Rs272,000 with 14 per cent interest from the date of decree till the date of actual payment.
The Pakistan Coast Guard challenged the judgment and decree through High Court Appeal No 34 of 1997 which was dismissed in limini in April 1997 by a division bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Mamoon Qazi and Mrs Justice Majida Rizvi (as they then were).
This appellate court’s judgment was further assailed by the Coast Guard before a division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Ajmal Mian and Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid (as they then were) by a civil petition for leave to appeal No 176-K/1997, but the apex court also declined to grant the appeal and the same was consequently refused after preliminary hearing on December 29, 1997.
Counsel Nasir Maqsood, on behalf of the decree holder, filed execution application with the High Court for seeking enforcement of the judgment and decree against the Coast Guard by way of attachment of office furniture and official car of the director-General of the Pakistan Coast Guard lying at the Coast Guard House.
In the meantime, the pecuniary jurisdiction of the High Court was enhanced from Rs100,000 to Rs500,000 and by way of administrative order the said execution was transferred from the High Court to the District Judge (South), who marked the same to IIIrd ADJ, Karachi (South), who granted the execution application.
The Coast Guard further filed a revision application No 26/1999 with the High Court impugning the order of granting of execution application on the ground that the order was void and illegal as, according to them, the executing court was not enjoying the jurisdiction to pass such order and also interim orders were sought seeking suspension of the order of execution.
The revision was preliminary heard by Justice Ghulam Rabbani of the High Court and notices were issued but no stay was granted.
In the executing court, Imtiaz Ali Effendi and Aamir Maqsood, advocates, re-agitated the plea on behalf of the decree holder before the IInd Senior Civil Judge (South) that the judgment and decree had attained finality from the apex court, and there was no justification on the part of the judgment debtors to find fault with the same. They prayed that the decree should be enforced without undue delay and apprised the court that the decretal amount had gone up to more than Rs500,000 merely on account of delay on the part of the judgment debtors.
The IInd Senior Civil Judge, Ms Kausar Sultana, after hearing the counsel, allowed the execution application and directed the Nazir to attach the assets of the judgment debtors as listed in column-11 of the execution application which included the car of the director-general of the Coast Guard. She also directed the Nazir to sell the said assets of the judgment debtors through auction as provided in law and pay to the decree holder in satisfaction of the execution application.