KARACHI, Jan 29: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notices in a writ petition agitating alleged police failure to act against two route operators who were extorting ‘bhatta’ from minibuses on an intra-city route.

Twelve transporters submitted through Advocates Aqil Lodhi and Mohammad Ali Abbasi that they had been plying mini-buses on the busy U-1 route from Azam Basti to Agra Taj Colony in accordance with the relevant laws and rules.

Two people claiming to be ‘route operators’ , namely Haji Sultan and Haji Dost Mohammad, were coercing them to pay Rs 200 per mini-bus per day. They were thus extorting Rs13,000 per day from the U-1 vehicles.

They approached the authorities and finally submitted a complaint with the SHO of the Mehmoodabad, who declined to register an FIR.

Citing the SHO, the town police officer, the chief police officer and the Sindh home department as respondents, the petitioners requested the court to direct the police to act against the culprits and restrain them from extorting ‘bhatta’.

A division bench, comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, issued notices to the respondents for an unspecified date.

DETENTION PLEA: The Sindh High Court has asked the advocate- general to appear on Feb 4 and state the reasons behind the detention of Badar Iqbal.

Mr Iqbal, who unsuccessfully contested the National Assembly election on PML (Q) ticket, was taken into custody for a month under the MPO last December.

He has not been released despite the expiry of the detention period.

According to his counsel, no fresh detention order has been passed. The detenu was earlier one of the key leaders of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM-H).

A division bench, consisting of Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Zawwar Hussain Jaffrey, directed that a notice be issued to Advocate-General Anwar Mansoor Khan for Feb 4.

Bb FRESH OATH: A division bench of the Sindh High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the attorney-general and the advocate-general in a constitutional petition seeking administration of a fresh oath to all the superior court judges.

Petitioner-lawyer Syed Arif Ali says that the judges have been sworn-in under the Provisional Constitution Order of October 1999 and the revival of the Constitution requires a new oath, particularly when the president and other state functionaries have also taken new oaths.

He also seeks a direction that all members of the superior judiciary be invited to take the new oath and no judge be removed from office on account of the president’s omission to swear him in.

A judge can only be removed by the Supreme Judicial Council under Article 209 of the Constitution, says the petitioner.

A bench comprising, Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, issued notices to the principal federal and provincial law officers for a date in office.

PLEA DISMISSED: The Sindh High Court dismissed on Wednesday a suit filed by 12 sugar mill owners against the fixation of sugarcane price by the provincial government.

The owners had submitted through Advocate Farogh Nasim that the government had no powers to fix prices now that it did not buy the sugar manufactured by their mills.

It should allow the market forces to operate in such matters. Sugar production was just not feasible at the cane price of Rs 43 a maund fixed by the provincial government.

Summing up the government position, Advocate-General Anwar Mansoor Khan submitted that the prices of essential commodities had been fixed by the government to protect the interests of all concerned — the growers, the manufacturers, the consumers and the public at large.

If cane prices were not regulated at the source, not only the growers and the consumers but ultimately the manufacturers might also suffer. The farmers might stop growing the cane.

Appearing for the growers, who were allowed to join the proceedings as interveners, advocates Abdul Mujib Pirzada and Sayed Ghulam Shah said the cane production would suffer if the commodity fetched only Rs 43 a maund to the farmers. Even this price was not paid by the mills promptly. The farmers would not grow sugarcane if they suffered a loss instead of earning their living.

Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi had reserved his order after hearing the parties on Friday.