KBA challenges new, hurriedly enforced arms law

SHC issues notice to home secretary, AG and district and sessions judges.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has issued notices to the provincial home secretary, key law officer and the city’s five district and sessions judges on a petition questioning the legal validity of the new arms law.

The outgoing government had hurriedly passed the new anti-arms act apparently to escape the displeasure of the Supreme Court which had repeatedly directed the Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government to pursue effective arms legislation to control violence in the city. The government finally passed the Sindh Arms Act 2013 two weeks before its five-year tenure was going to expire in March this year. The Karachi Bar Association, however, questioned the validity of the new law in court.

Akhlaq Ahmed, the lawyer representing the bar association, informed the judges that the Sindh Arms Act 2013 was gazetted on March 1 but was to come into effect according to the date notified by the government in the official gazette. No notification, however, has been issued as yet, he stated.



The lawyer said that following the promulgation of the act, the district and sessions judges of the city’s five districts - East, West, South, Central and Malir - had directed their subordinate judges to accept charge sheets submitted by the police under the new law. But the legal status of the law still remains controversial.

“The district and sessions judges of East, West, South, Central and Malir are applying the provisions of the Act of 2013 without it being put into effect,” argued Akhlaq Ahmed.

The bar was of the view that until the time the notification is issued, deciding matters according to the Sindh Arms Act 2013 should be considered illegal and the old law, Arms Ordinance 1965, would remain in force. He asked the court to declare that deciding cases under the new law is illegal unless it is properly enforced.

As the judges took up the matter on Friday, a provincial law officer, Miran Muhammad Shah, told the judges that another petition involving the same questions was already pending with the court and was fixed for hearing on May 28.

Chief Justice Mushir Alam, while heading the bench, issued notice to the home secretary, all the five district and sessions judges and provincial advocate general for May 28. The bench also ordered its office to fix both the petitions together for hearing on the same day before the same bench.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2013.