The Sindh High Court granted on Wednesday two days to the petitioner's counsel to appear before the court in a case pertaining to the methods of collecting census data, warning that this was the last time an extension was being granted.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar heard the case.
The assistant lawyer of the petitioner's counsel, Farooq H Naek, informed the court that Naek had been unable to appear for the hearings due to his busy schedule.
"This plea is not maintainable anymore as the census was carried out in 2017," remarked Justice Mazhar.
Naek's assistant failed to present an argument on the court's remarks and sought an extension.
How can the court continue to conduct hearings when the census has been carried out, asked the bench.
"Naek appears everywhere except for here," observed Justice Mazhar, directing the assistant lawyer to either have Naek appear in court or respond to the court after consulting him.
At this, the assistant lawyer said he was unable to contact Naek, and prayed the court to grant a two-day extension for Naek to appear in court.
Accepting his request, the court warned it was the last extension, and adjourned the hearing till October 28.
Motorway Police allowances
Meanwhile, the court issued notices to the communication secretary, Ministry of Finance and Motorway Police (MP) IGP over a plea pertaining to deductions in the salaries of MP officials.
The petitioner maintained in the plea that the Ministry of Finance had suspended allowances paid to employees with basic salaries since 2010, as well as the daily allowance of 20 days.
He further claimed that a 50 per cent reduction had also been made in the suspended allowances in 2017, while officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) were being given additional payments on account of different allowances.
He maintained that NAB and FIA inspectors collected Rs80,000 more than what the MP inspectors received monthly, despite the fact that the MP's performance had been appreciated by the United Nations Organisation and Transparency International.
The petitioner added that such 'discrimination' was creating a financial crisis for MP workers, while also putting the agency's performance at risk.
He moved the court to take action against the policy and give officials their due rights.
The court issued notices to the relevant parties, seeking their replies on November 16.
Substandard sanitisers
The SHC also disposed of a plea challenging action taken by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) against sanitiser manufacturing companies.
The assistant attorney-general maintained that DRAP had issued a notification against companies manufacturing substandard sanitisers.
However, DRAP officials informed the court that the notification pertaining to raids and action against these companies had been withdrawn, after which the court disposed of the plea.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 22nd, 2020.
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