Cases of social media stars received most coverage

Free-will marriage, Parween Rehman cases also remained highlights of just-ended year

KARACHI:

Of all the litigations in the Sindh High Court (SHC) in the just-ended year, the case involving a supposedly free-mill marriage in Lahore received the most media coverage. Social media celebs like Hareem Shah, Dania Shah, and Veena Malik also appeared before different SHC benches in cases involving them.

The free-will marriage case surfaced on April 16, 2022 when Mehdi Ali Kazmi appeared on the social media crying for the recovery of his underage girl who had disappeared from outside his home in Alfalah Town. Police discovered that she had eloped with someone and soon her video statement came to fore that she has married the man of her choice.

However, Kazmi filed a case that she was underage and could not contract marriage. The SHC ordered the teenage girl to be brought back to Karachi. On May 23, the SHC ruled that Sindh's IG Kamran Fazal must be dismissed for his inability to locate the "alleged abductee".

Similarly, in the high-profile case of social activist Parveewn Rehman, who was murdered in 2013, all the convicts, including Raheem Swati, Amjad Hussain, Ayaz Swati, and Ahmed Hussain were acquitted by the SHC on November 21 after it accepted the accused's pleas. An anti-terrorism court had sentenced them to life in prison on two counts.

On December 1, the Sindh government placed them in house-arrest custody under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), but on December 13, the SHC annulled the government's notification. The Administrator of Karachi and K-Electric reached an agreement to collect a municipal tax via monthly electricity bills from consumers.

However, on September 26, the SHC ordered an injunction preventing K-Electric from collecting the municipal tax from its consumers through monthly electricity bills. Senator Azam Swati, who has been booked in several cases for his objectionable tweets against the army, was brought to Sindh from Balochistan on December 9 after the Balochistan High Court ordered quashing of all FIRs against him in the province.

The SHC also ordered on December 15 to dismiss all proceedings against Swati in Sindh after his son Usman Swati filed a complaint against the multiple FIRs in the province. Well-known politician, televangelist and TV personality Dr. Aamir Liaquat Hussain was found dead at his home on June 9. The SHC annulled the judgment of a subordinate court on June 22 when the issue surrounding Hussain's autopsy surfaced.

On the request of the general public, the lower court, in that case, ordered that Hussain postmortem should be performed. The mother of his third wife, Daniya Shah, spoke in court in support of the autopsy while his children opposed it. When a video clip showing TikToker Hareem Shah carrying huge sum of money abroad surfaced on January 12, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) called her for questioning.

On October 4, the SHC granted her bail and prevented the FIA from detaining her when she requested to go home rather than face arrest. The government's appeal against the subordinate court's ruling in the case of recovery of explosive materials from Nine Zero was rejected by the SHC on December 12. An anti-terrorism court had acquitted 14 accused, including Nadir Shah. While Faisal Mota was sentenced to 10 years, Farhan, Obaid K2, and Abid, were sentenced to eight years in prison.