HYDERABAD, Nov 10: The Sindh High Court Hyderabad circuit bench has directed all relevant jail and police officials of Balochistan and Sindh to establish the identity of a prisoner, who, was being held in jail, apparently, in a case of mistaken identity.
The division bench comprising Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany directed the Additional Advocate-General of Sindh, Masood A. Noorani, to call all the relevant jail and police officials and ensure that the relevant material necessary for the identification of a prisoner was made available on the next date of hearing.
The petitioner, Nihal Khan Soomro, in his constitutional petition claimed that he had faced trials in various courts of the Balochistan province and after the conclusion of trials he was acquitted and added that he had never changed his name and parentage as being claimed by respondents.
He had filed a habeas corpus petition before the Balochistan High Court as he was arrested in various false cases in Quetta.
But he was acquitted in all the cases except for one case that was pending the trial before the sessions judge of Quetta.
In the meantime, he claimed, the Sindh government sought his custody through the Home Department as he was claimed to have been required in various pending cases against him in the province.
He said he was granted bail in the only case in Quetta but the police again detained him under the MPO for one month.
The detention was challenged before the Balochistan High Court, claiming that he was not the actual person the police were looking for.
The Sindh police have wanted to nab one Paryal against whom 13 cases were pending and not against the petitioner. He informed the court that the Sindh police claimed to have killed said Paryal in an encounter and they had also obtained reward for gunning him down.
The SSP of Larkana had sent a letter in which details of cases against Nihal Khan alias Paryal Kalhoro, son of Abdul Nabi, were mentioned, he added.
He said that his actual name was Nihal Khan, son of Ghulam Nabi Soomro, and that the Sindh police wanted some Paroo alias Nihal Khan as the Sindh government had declared head money for the alleged dacoit.
He apprehended that he might be killed in any fake encounter.
He submitted that the Sindh government succeeded in getting his custody in the name of Budho alias Budhal, son of Habibullah Kalhoro, and nowadays he was facing trial in the name of Budho Kalhoro as the Sindh government had notified the inside trial of Budho in the central jail of Hyderabad.
He prayed the court to restrain respondents from prosecuting him in false case in the name of Budho alias Budhal and declare that his actual name was Nihal Khan and he was permanent resident of Balochistan. He requested the court to direct the secretary of Home Department to furnish complete list of cases if any, pending against him.
After hearing, the bench observed that it might be extremely unfortunate if a wrong person was denied his liberty by agencies of state. The court asked Sindh AAG Masood Noorani to ensure that all the concerned jail and police officers were available on Nov 21 with relevant record to establish the identity of the petitioner who was being held in a case of mistaken identity.