Another judge recuses himself from hearing Durrani’s bail plea

Sindh Assembly speaker is implicated in a Rs1.4 billion corruption case

KARACHI: Justice Muhammad Saleem Jessar recused himself on Tuesday from hearing the bail plea filed by Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani and other accused. The matter was forwarded to the chief justice to form a new bench. Justice Jessar and Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi were hearing the bail pleas filed by Durrani, Maseehuddin, Gulzar Ahmed and others in the corruption case of Rs1.4b.

Justice Jessar recused himself and the matter was forwarded to the chief justice. Earlier, Justice KK Agha had also recused himself from hearing Durrani's bail plea.

Durrani is in jail while Maseehuddin and Gulzar Ahmed are out on interim bail.

Employees' plea

A two-member bench comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan directed officials to stop the dismissal of employees while hearing the pleas filed by employees of the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) who have not been made permanent in the subordinate departments of the SRB. The bench issued notices to the chief secretary, SRB secretary, and other relevant authorities in this regard.

The counsel for the petitioners, Asadullah, maintained that 650 employees of the SRB Anti-Encroachment Cell have not been made permanent. These employees were appointed in 2011 but are still serving on contract and the department is now thinking of dismissing them. Besides, 350 employees of the SRB Land Administration and Revenue Management Information System (LARMIS) department are being fired, said Asadullah, adding that only half of the employees in LARMIS have been made permanent while the rest are working on contract. All these employees were appointed in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and should have been made permanent according to the law, he argued.

The court ordered that the dismissal of employees be stopped and sought replies from the chief secretary, SRB secretary and other relevant authorities.

Illegal appointments

Another two-member bench comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Omar Sial heard the case pertaining to illegal appointments in Karachi Development Authority (KDA). The court directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) authorities to complete the inquiry within two months.

KDA authorities submitted their reply regarding illegal appointments in court. The NAB investigation officer (IO) sought more time to complete the inquiry.

The court directed NAB to complete the inquiry within two months and adjourned hearing till August 22.

The court had sought records of Atta Abbas Zaidi's and Shahid Omar's appointments in KDA. According to NAB, Zaidi was appointed as a grade-5 officer on the basis of fake documents and then was promoted to grade-10 and grade-19 posts on fake diploma certificates. Investigation in Zaidi's appointment revealed 11 more illegal appointments in KDA. NAB had said KDA authorities were not providing the records.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2019.