Arrest warrant issued against EOBI chairman

KARACHI: A warrant for the arrest of the chairman of the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) was issued by the Sindh High Court on Monday.

Petitioner Hadim Ali Khan and two EOBI executive directors filed a miscellaneous application, seeking contempt proceedings against Chairman EOBI Zafar Iqbal Gondal and two others.

Their counsel, Nawaz Sheikh, said that, in 2004, the EOBI Board of Trustees decided to promote Executive Directors (G-6) to the post of Assistant Directors (G-7), who were to acquire knowledge of business management equivalent to a Masters in Business Administration. The EOBI was to bear 50 per cent of the expenses for this training. In 2006, the Board of Trustees reversed this decision unlawfully, as it had no mandate to undo decisions taken by previous board.

Petitioners challenged this move in the SHC, which ordered the EOBI to promote the petitioners to the next grade within 15 days. The EOBI management appealed against the decision in the Supreme Court, which also upheld the high court decision.

The counsel stated that respondents were not complying with the orders passed by the courts. He asked the SHC to initiate contempt proceedings against the EOBI chairman.

On Monday, Chairman Zafar Iqbal Gondal did not appear in court despite a notice served to him. The SHC division bench, comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Nisar Muhammad Shaikh, issued a bailable arrest warrant for him and asked him to present himself in court on July 13.

In a separate case, the SHC issued notice to the Karachi Electric Supply Company’s (KESC) Chief Executive Officer to file comments till July 6, 2010 on non-compliance of orders to notify power outage schedule in city a week in advance. Petitioner Syed Iqbal Kazmi said that the KESC was carrying out unannounced power outages in the city for several hours. He said that the SHC had earlier directed the KESC management to announce the scheduleat least one week in advance.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2010.