SHC seeks responses from NEPRA, KE. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) asked on Tuesday NEPRA and K-Electric to submit their replies by October 12 on a contempt of court petition filed against the power utility over unannounced load shedding.
The case was heard by a two-member bench headed by Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi on Tuesday. The petitioner, Karamat Ali, accused the NEPRA and K-Electric authorities of not complying with court orders.
The petition further referred to deaths in the 2015 heat wave which were mostly caused due to long spells of load-shedding. The court had earlier asked NEPRA to take action against K-Electric.
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Universities Act
The SHC gave three months' time to the Sindh government to file its comments on a petition against the Sindh Universities Amendment Act 2018. The case was heard by a divisional bench led by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar on Tuesday.
The petition maintained that previously, the office of the chancellor of universities vested with the Sindh governor but as per the Act, these powers have now been shifted to the chief minister (CM) of the province. The petition further stated that due to this Act, the universities of Sindh will suffer just like the schools.
Justice Mazhar remarked that action will be taken if the fundamental rights under the Universities Bill are violated.
The Sindh Additional Advocate-General Shabbir Shah said that the Universities Act 2018 is not illegal.
The petitioner's counsel maintained that the authority to manage the affairs of 24 varsities of the province had been given to the CM.
He further said that there were ill intentions behind this stance.
He said that the autonomy of the varsities is being taken away and the education system will be ruined while the universities would turn into political camps.
The court summoned a reply from the Sindh government and sought a copy of the law.
Safoora attack
The SHC adjourned on Tuesday the hearing of appeals filed against the death sentences given by a military court to the accused terrorists in Safoora Goth carnage due to the absence of the defence lawyer. SHC also sought legal opinions on the maintainability of appeals made by the accused, Saad Aziz, Tahir Minhas, Azhar Ishrat, Hafiz Nasir and Asadur Rehman, who were awarded death sentences by a military court.
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According to the Sindh prosecutor-general, appeals against a military court judgment can only be filed in the Supreme Court. The accused terrorists filed the appeal stating that they had been given death sentences for different cases and their families had not been informed about the charges against them.
The appeal requested that they be allowed to meet their families and the death sentences be deferred. The hearing was adjourned for an indefinite period of time.
NICL case
SHC also instructed the lawyers of the main suspect in the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) corruption reference Amin Qasim Dada on Tuesday to come prepared in the next hearing of his bail plea.
The case was heard by a two-member bench headed by Justice Iqbal Kalhoro. According to NAB, the accused sold off 10-acre land owned by NICL at a low cost, causing losses in millions to the national exchequer.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 3rd, 2018.
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