SHC issues show-cause notice to universities and boards secretary

Verdict of death penalty commuted to life imprisonment in case of minor’s murder

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday issued show cause notices to Universities and Boards Department Secretary regarding the plea against delay in the announcement of results by the board. A two-member bench, hearing the plea, expressed displeasure over the non-appearance of the department secretary and issued him a show-cause notice for December 12.

The petition was filed by former additional secretary Nazeer Ahmed Dhon. The petitioner said that due to the delay in results, more than three million students had wasted their year. The universities do not even take supplementary examinations. Universities and Boards Department must be made responsible to issue the results within 120 days of the examination while permission for supplementary examinations for students who have failed should be given.



Missing persons’ case

The SHC on Thursday expressed its annoyance over the performance of police officials in recovering over 80 missing persons and asked for a progress report in the next hearing. A two-member bench, headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, heard the petitions against recovery of missing persons. Justice Phulpoto remarked that the police needed to take the matter seriously and directed the use of all possible resources needed to recover the missing.

The counsel for a missing citizen named Qaim Ali maintained that DSR Kaleem Imam had called his client and said that his sons would be released. We tried to get an FIR registered against Kaleem Imam but the investigation officer filed the report for ‘unknown suspects’.

The court ordered DSR Kaleem Imam to present himself at the next hearing.



Minor’s murder case

The SHC on Thursday overturned the judgment of a local court from death sentence to life imprisonment in the case of kidnapping and murder of a minor, Yousuf.  A two-member bench heard the appeal and overturned the judgment along with Rs0.1 million fine imposed on each of the accused, Shakir and his wife Safeena.  A local court earlier had awarded death sentence to both the accused. The accused had kidnapped the minor in 2013, and a case had been registered against them at Shah Faisal Colony. 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2018.