Poor legislation: SHC turns down govt’s request to establish special courts
Special powers conferred to ADJs in each district to hear cases under the arms act.
Special powers conferred to ADJs in each district to hear cases under the arms act. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
KARACHI:
The Sindh High Court has turned down the provincial government’s request to establish separate courts to try suspects arrested under the Sindh Arms Act 2013, The Express Tribune learnt on Wednesday.
Sources privy to the process said the request was turned down as the recently passed legislation by the government to control arms-related crimes does not include a provision for the establishment of special courts. With 20 special anti-terrorism courts already functioning in the city and five in the pipeline, the home department had sought the establishment of another five special courts for expeditious trial of the 2,100 suspects arrested under the arms act.
The additional judicial secretary for the home department, Rasool Bux Samajo, had addressed a letter to SHC chief justice Maqbool Baqar in November. “Around 2,120 accused have so far been held under the Arms Act 2013 on account of possessing illegal weapons during the targeted operation,” the secretary had informed the Justice Baqar.
Samajo said that the provincial government was facing difficulty in prosecuting so many suspects as the functioning courts were already preoccupied with a large number of cases. “In order to facilitate the trial in an expeditious manner, it is requested that five special courts, one in each district of Karachi, only for the trial of the accused arrested under the Arms Act 2013 may kindly be established,” he had requested.
Sources told The Express Tribune that the home department’s request was actually based on a letter written by the Karachi additional IG Shahid Hayat. AIG Hayat, who is also the city’s police chief, had informed the home department that 1,386 cases had been registered by his force under the Arms Act 2013 during the ongoing operation and the chargesheets had been submitted to the relevant courts.
“Only three of these cases have been disposed of so far,” the police chief had pointed out, requesting for the establishment of at least two separate courts to hear and decide the cases under the new arms law, “to ensure conviction of the accused”.
Sources said the government had already made arrangements for the courtrooms while the infrastructure facilities were also being provided. The registrar’s office found, however, that the request could not be entertained on legal grounds. “There is no provision in the Sindh Arms Act 2013, which the government itself has enacted recently, to establish separate courts to try the suspects held under the arms law,” a judicial official privy to the process told The Express Tribune. “That is the legal bar in the way of constituting such courts,” the source explained.
Sessions courts empowered
Meanwhile, CJ Baqar has allowed the conferment of special powers to the first additional district and sessions judge in each of the five districts to exclusively conduct trials under the arms law, besides hearing routine matters. “To enable them to conduct speedy trials, directions have been issued that the ADJs would only be hearing other cases, which are already assigned them. No fresh cases would be assigned to them by the District and Sessions Judges,” the source added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2014.
The Sindh High Court has turned down the provincial government’s request to establish separate courts to try suspects arrested under the Sindh Arms Act 2013, The Express Tribune learnt on Wednesday.
Sources privy to the process said the request was turned down as the recently passed legislation by the government to control arms-related crimes does not include a provision for the establishment of special courts. With 20 special anti-terrorism courts already functioning in the city and five in the pipeline, the home department had sought the establishment of another five special courts for expeditious trial of the 2,100 suspects arrested under the arms act.
The additional judicial secretary for the home department, Rasool Bux Samajo, had addressed a letter to SHC chief justice Maqbool Baqar in November. “Around 2,120 accused have so far been held under the Arms Act 2013 on account of possessing illegal weapons during the targeted operation,” the secretary had informed the Justice Baqar.
Samajo said that the provincial government was facing difficulty in prosecuting so many suspects as the functioning courts were already preoccupied with a large number of cases. “In order to facilitate the trial in an expeditious manner, it is requested that five special courts, one in each district of Karachi, only for the trial of the accused arrested under the Arms Act 2013 may kindly be established,” he had requested.
Sources told The Express Tribune that the home department’s request was actually based on a letter written by the Karachi additional IG Shahid Hayat. AIG Hayat, who is also the city’s police chief, had informed the home department that 1,386 cases had been registered by his force under the Arms Act 2013 during the ongoing operation and the chargesheets had been submitted to the relevant courts.
“Only three of these cases have been disposed of so far,” the police chief had pointed out, requesting for the establishment of at least two separate courts to hear and decide the cases under the new arms law, “to ensure conviction of the accused”.
Sources said the government had already made arrangements for the courtrooms while the infrastructure facilities were also being provided. The registrar’s office found, however, that the request could not be entertained on legal grounds. “There is no provision in the Sindh Arms Act 2013, which the government itself has enacted recently, to establish separate courts to try the suspects held under the arms law,” a judicial official privy to the process told The Express Tribune. “That is the legal bar in the way of constituting such courts,” the source explained.
Sessions courts empowered
Meanwhile, CJ Baqar has allowed the conferment of special powers to the first additional district and sessions judge in each of the five districts to exclusively conduct trials under the arms law, besides hearing routine matters. “To enable them to conduct speedy trials, directions have been issued that the ADJs would only be hearing other cases, which are already assigned them. No fresh cases would be assigned to them by the District and Sessions Judges,” the source added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2014.