KARACHI, Jan 14: The Sindh High Court on Monday restrained the police from arresting four members of the Karachi Yacht Club (KYC) in a criminal case.

A division bench headed by Justice Maqbool Baqar was seized with the petition of Nadeem Khalid, Faisal Hamid Khan, Dr Tariq Bukhari and Nader Cowasjee seeking the cancellation of an FIR against them.

The petitioners impleaded the home secretary, the provincial police chief, the SHO of the Jackson police station and Byram D. Avari, a member of the KYC, as respondents.

The bench issued notices to the respondents, the advocate-general and the prosecutor general of Sindh and put off the hearing to Jan 28.

The petitioners submitted that they were the elected members of the KYC, originally known as the Karachi Sailing Club, founded in 1911 with a prime objective to provide opportunities for sailing and other facilities as required by the members.

They stated that Mr Avari was elected as commodore who along with three others members of the managing committee held an illegal meeting on Nov 23, 2012.

The petitioners stated that they initiated a civil suit against the illegal meeting of the managing committee in the SHC that suspended the minutes of the impugned meeting on Nov 30, 2012.

They said that Mr Avari got an FIR registered against them under Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code for alleged embezzlement in the club’s funds.

The petitioners prayed to the court to order the cancellation of the FIR against them.

The bench ordered: “Neither the nominated accused in subject FIR (32/2013) shall be arrested, nor shall they be harassed illegally and/or unlawfully till Jan 28”.