Sindh High Court : PHOTO: EXPRESS
The petitioners, who are female staff at the hospital, informed the court that Superintendent Anwar Pilari and Deputy Superintendent Shakeel Ahmed had made their lives miserable due to their inappropriate behaviour.
The nurses told the court that disciplinary action was initiated after a complaint was submitted before the provincial ombudsman.
"Do you have no shame? Are these women accusing you without reason?" remarked the bench, directing its annoyance towards Pilari.
Pilari's counsel maintained that the case was under trial before the ombudsman and the court should wait for the ombudsman's decision.
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The bench warned that an FIR would be registered directly if the female staff was harassed again. "Legal action can be taken as laws against harassment have been made. Strict action will be taken if any party violates the laws," observed the bench.
The court directed the ombudsman to take a decision within a month.
Sugar cane rates
The bench issued notices to the parties yet again while hearing a contempt of court plea against the Sindh chief minister, chief secretary, agriculture minister and others for not fixing official sugar cane rates even though the harvesting season has begun.
The agriculture secretary did not appear before the court despite having been issued a judicial notice.
The court issued notices and sought replies by December 10.
The plea maintained that official rates haven't been fixed despite court orders. The harvest has begun and farmers are worried, it stated.
Population data
Meanwhile, the bench adjourned the hearing of a plea pertaining to discrepancies between the census reports of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) after the ECP submitted its reply before the court.
According to the ECP's reply, the delineation of new electoral constituencies was carried out on the basis of the 2017 census. The ECP maintained that it has not made any changes in the delineation of electoral constituencies in the provincial or national assemblies, or in the electoral rolls. It stated that there was a minor difference with regards to population between the reports of the ECP and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The court adjourned the hearing indefinitely.
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The plea maintained that the population data issued by the ECP and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics was inconsistent. According to the bureau, the total population of the country is 207,774,520, whereas the ECP stated it to be 207,766,954, read the plea. It claimed that around 8,000 Pakistanis were missing from the ECP's report and argued that the electoral constituencies could not be accurate if the population count was not correct. The petitioner prayed the court that the election process should be suspended till the correct population count is determined. Elections conducted on the basis of incorrect statistics would be unfair, it argued.
Iqama case
The same bench reserved the verdict on an Iqama case against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders and directed the parties to submit their arguments in writing by December 13. The bench was hearing the plea challenging the eligibility of Faryal Talpur, Sohail Anwar Sial, Nasir Hussain Shah, Manzoor Wassan and others on allegations of possession of Iqama.
Shah's counsel, Barrister Zameer Ghumro, maintained that Shah had his Iqama till 2012 but he did not have it after 2012. He argued that the plea was not maintainable as the speaker of the relevant assembly has the authority to declare its member ineligible.
The court reserved the verdict on the plea after the parties completed their arguments. The petitioners presented evidence against the PPP leaders including Iqama documents.
Replies sought
The bench sought a reply from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Haleem Adil Shaikh on a petition filed by PPP leader Lala Abdul Raheem seeking Shaikh's disqualification.
The petitioner stated that Shaikh had hidden details pertaining to his income in the records submitted before the ECP. It argued that Shaikh had not mentioned that the expenses of both his daughters were being paid by an American bank account. The petitioner also furnished the details of a bank account in New Jersey. The petition further stated that Shaikh did not mention the Nawabshah Poultry Complex in his records submitted to the ECP. The petitioner prayed the court to notify Shaikh on the matter of hidden sources of income and disqualify him for concealing his assets.
The bench issued notices to the respondents and sought their replies.
Bail pleas
Meanwhile, a two-member bench, headed by SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh and comprising Justice Omar Sial accepted the interim bail of the two co-accused in a reference against former provincial minister Sharjeel Memon and others pertaining to assets beyond means. The bench was hearing the bail pleas filed by the accused.
Memon and other accused appeared before the court. The bench accepted the interim bail pleas of co-accused Shaukat Ali Thebo and Waseem Thebo against the surety of Rs200,000 each and restrained the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from arresting them till the next hearing.
The court directed the parties to present arguments at the next hearing on January 21, while also extending the bail of Memon and other accused till January 21.
According to NAB, Memon, his wife, his mother, and other accused committed corruption worth Rs2.28 billion and possess assets beyond means.
*With additional input from PPI
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2019.
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