SHC suspends prison officials for ‘corrupt practices’

A senior puisne judge issued the orders during his visit to Karachi Central Jail

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered on Saturday the suspension of the Karachi central prison's assistant superintendent and the prison police personnel over complaints of their involvement in corrupt practices.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the prison's superintendent, Qazi Nazir, and deputy superintendent Shakir Hussain Shah were also issued show-cause notices to explain, within two weeks, why they failed to act against the corrupt officials.

They said that these orders were issued by the SHC's senior puisne judge, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, during his visit to the city's main prison over growing complaints regarding rampant corruption there. The sources said that the senior puisne judge, who was accompanied by the judicial officers, met the convicted and the under-trial prisoners as well as the visitors.

They said that the inmates and the visitors alleged that the prison officials as well as the personnel of the prison police demanded bribe from them to allow their meetings or give other facilities, which are allowed to them under prison rules.

Taking serious notice of the poor state of affairs, Justice Shah ordered the suspension of the assistant superintendent, Murid Abbas, ASI Agha Zubair Ahmed and constables Muhammad Ali, Shahid Chandio, Gulzar, Muhammad Abbas, Akram Arain, Tariq Mehboob, Nadeem Dur, Saleem, Tanveer Bhutto, Naeem, Nisar Ahmed, Amjad, Rasheed and Zulfiqar Arain. Show-cause notices were also issued to the superintendent and deputy superintendent to submit their written explanation about why they had failed to act against the corrupt officials.

Justice Shah further constituted a monitoring committee, comprising four judicial officers, which will pay fortnightly visits to the jail to check provision of facilities to the inmates and visitors. The committee, which would comprise two additional district and sessions judges and two judicial magistrates, has been ordered to submit its inspection reports fortnightly to the senior puisne judge to pass required orders.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2015.