PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court sought a progress report from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the inquiry launched against five persons accused of illegal land allotment in Hyderabad.
A two-member bench, comprising Justice Omar Sial and Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi, issued the directives to submit the report during the hearing of the interim bail plea of one of the accused, Niaz Hussain, after the accused's counsel argued that while the inquiry was initiated in 2018, the NAB hadn't been able to provide any evidence of the accusation levelled against his client.
Irked by this information, the court remarked, "The NAB [continues to] issue call-up notices and make arrests but never completes its task."
At this, the NAB prosecutor told the court that the inquiry against the accused was underway.
Seeking a progress report on the inquiry, the court adjourned the hearing until November 12.
Request denied
The bench also refused to hold on priority basis the hearings of a plea challenging the blocking of a road opposite Valika Hospital in SITE Area.
At the hearing, the petitioner's counsel informed that court that the road was blocked by the SITE Association even when the Sindh government hadn't issued any orders in this regard. He further said that the move was causing inconvenience to area residents, numbering around 250,000.
The court, however, refused to hear the plea on priority basis, directing the petitioner to first approach the SITE Association and the provincial government on the matter.
"It [the road] could have been blocked for any reason and the court cannot interfere in executive matters," it remarked.
Fine reduced
Meanwhile, a bench comprising Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro and Justice Abdul Mobeen Lakho, while nullifying the sentenced meted out to a convict by a trial court in a robbery and police encounter case, reduced the fine imposed on him.
During the hearing of the plea challenging an anti-terrorism court's ruling against Syed Waqar, the petitioner informed the court that he used to work in Saudi Arabia and was arrested over a property dispute during one of his visits to Pakistan. He maintained that he was "half-fried" by police, who later declared that he was shot during an encounter.
Half-fry and full-fry are terms used by the police to refer to the condition of suspects they come across during encounters. The former is used for a person who is injured and the latter when the person is killed during the raid.
According to Waqar, he was shot by police in one of his legs that, consequently, had to be amputated.
With his hands clasped, he prayed the court to annul the sentence meted out to him.
'Don't clasp your hands before us, we will issue orders in accordance with the law," remarked Justice Kalhoro, expressing annoyance over his gesture. "You are standing before a court, not a feudal lord."
The court ordered to nullify the trial court's ruling against Waqar and reduce the fine imposed on him, adding that if he was unable to pay the remainder of the fine, he would have to spend another month in jail.
According to the prosecutor, Waqar was given a 10-year jail term, of which he has completed four years, and was fined Rs650,000.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2020.
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