SHC seeks details of contract between DMCs, Chinese firm

Company is charging billions of rupees but still not doing its job, says petitioner's counsel

KARACHI: A two-member bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) sought details of the agreement signed between the district municipal corporations (DMCs) and the Chinese company, which has been awarded the contract to lift garbage from Karachi, on Tuesday.

While hearing the plea filed against the awarding of the contract to the company, the bench, comprising Justice Syed Azhar Hassan Rizvi and Justice Kausar Sultana, also ordered the petitioner, Bashir Abbasi, to submit details pertaining to the registration of his non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Expressing annoyance over not being provided basic information, the court remarked that the petitioner's counsel had only presented the plea filed against the DMCs. Addressing the petitioner's counsel, Justice Rizvi asked, "Don't you have any problem with the Sindh government, which is responsible for allocating budget and releasing funds?" He also asked whether the petitioner's counsel knew how much money is given to DMCs. Reprimanding the defence lawyer, he said that all the details should be submitted to the court.

Presenting Abbasi's case, the defence lawyer said that the Chinese company was charging billions of rupees but was not doing its job.

The court remarked that "pick and choose" strategy wouldn't work. If you want to file a plea then nominate everyone found to be involved in the case as a party, it said. It also asked about Abbasi's profession and the amount of tax he pays. Abbasi informed the court that he runs an NGO and is a filer.

Apart from the details of Abbasi's NGO, the court also sought particulars of the agreement signed between the DMCs and the Chinese company.

Illegal land allotment

Meanwhile, another bench of SHC, headed by Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh and comprising Justice Omer Sial, expressed annoyance over the absence of co-accused Iftikhar Qaimkhani's counsel, during the hearing of a bail plea pertaining to the illegal allotment of 198 plots by Syed Mustafa Kamal and others. The court ordered that Qaimkhani's counsel appear before the court at the next hearing under any circumstances.

The assistant lawyer informed the court that the counsel for Qaimkhani was sick and requested an extension, so that the arguments could be presented at a later date. Expressing annoyance, Justice Shaikh remarked, "Do you think we don't understand these tactics?" He warned that the court won't entertain any excuses at the next hearing. The bail would be cancelled if Qaimkhani, or his counsel, didn't not appear at the next hearing, he said.

The court adjourned the hearing till Oct 1, while approving the extension of pre-arrest interim bails of the former city nazim, Mustafa Kamal, and other accused, including Fazalur Rehman, Mumtaz Haider and Nazeer Zardari.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a reference against Kamal and others, alleging that they had illegally allotted 5,500 square yards of land located along Karachi's coast. The land was initially leased to hawkers and shopkeepers in 1980, but was later acquired by DJ builders in 2005, also on lease. According to NAB, Kamal illegally permitted the construction company to build a high-rise building on the land.

Verdict annulled

In another case, pertaining to the murder of a police constable, Maqsood, in 2010, the court accepted the plea filed against the sentence awarded to the accused, Mateeullah.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Khadim Hussain Tunio, accepted Mateeullah's plea and annulled the verdict announced by a trial court, which had meted out life imprisonment to the accused along with imposing a fine on him.

The defence lawyer argued before the court that legal requirements pertaining to the identification of the accused, during the identity parade, were not met.

According to the police, Mateeullah had opened fire while police officials were patrolling in Mehmoodabad. As a result, constable Maqsood was killed and another official, Muhammad Aslam, was injured. Police said that Mateeullah was arrested after he was identified by Aslam and a case was registered against him at the Mehmoodabad police station.

Fake domiciles

Another bench of SHC issued a notice to Khawaja Izharul Hassan over a plea filed regarding the nomination of a private organisation as a party in a case pertaining to fake domiciles. A two-member bench, comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Agha Faisal, heard the plea filed by Hassan.

The plea mentioned that thousands of government jobs have been awarded on the basis of fake domiciles in the past and another 40,000 jobs would be given to those having fake domiciles in the near future. According to the plea, fake domiciles and Permanent Residence Certificates are being issued across Sindh. Furthermore, domiciles for Karachi are issued without considering the address mentioned on CNICs, which is depriving the metropolis' residents of job opportunities, it stated.

Jobs announced by the Sindh government, which should have been awarded to the citizens of Karachi, were being given to others on the basis of domiciles since 2008, it said. The plea sought the formation of a committee, on the orders of SHC, to ensure proper investigation of documents before the issuance of domiciles.

The court adjourned the hearing of the case till October 24.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2019.