KARACHI, Dec 24: A division bench of the Sindh High Court on Wednesday ordered appointment within 30 days of about 100 assistant sub-inspectors selected by the police department in 1996.
The petitioners stated through their senior counsel, Mohammad Nawaz Shaikh, that they applied for ASIs posts in 1996. They first qualified a physical fitness test, then a written test and finally a viva voce examination conducted by the police department. They were selected to fill the vacancies but before they could be issued their appointment letters, there was a change of government at the federal and provincial levels.
They made several representations to the police and home departments but there was no positive response. Finally they were told that the entire recruitment record had been lost and the provincial government had decided to make fresh appointments. The petitioners alleged that the record was deliberately misplaced to pave the way for appointment of favourites. They said they showed copies of their applications and results but the respondents remained unmoved. They produced the copies in court to substantiate their contention.
The bench, which consisted of Justices Khilji Arif Hussain and Syed Mahmood Alam Rizvi, directed the respondent departments to issue appointment letters to the petitioners within 30 days.
Gymkhana case
A judge, meanwhile, issued for January 13 a notice to the plaintiff National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) in an application moved by the defendant provincial culture department for vacation of an interim order against its notices of September 9 and October 10 for eviction of the Hindu Gymkhana premises. The application moved by the plaintiff academy for confirmation of the interim injunction would also come up for hearing the same day.
The defendant department said in its application that the premises, which had been declared a heritage site under the Heritage Preservation Act of 1994, were transferred by the federal government to the provincial government, which gave them to Napa on the condition that no alteration would be made to the building except with the approval of the advisory committee set up under the 1994 Act. It issued eviction notices in September and October as the academy had made alterations in violation of the condition set out in its agreement with the department.
The academy challenged the notices before the high court saying that there was no violation of the agreement and the department wanted to terminate it arbitrarily. The court issued a notice to the department and restrained it from evicting the plaintiff academy in the meantime. In its application for vacation of the stay order, the department said the academy was raising new construction under the cover of interim injunction.
Creditor banks restrained
The bench comprising Justices K.A. Hussain and S.M.A. Rizvi, meanwhile, restrained the bank recovery teams and the police from harassing a petitioner debtor, Syed Haneef Ahmed.
The petitioner submitted through Advocate Gohar Iqbal that he was a trader who obtained loans on credit cards in the normal course of business. He paid his debts regularly but was forced to default by unavoidable circumstances on a month’s instalments. Instead of considering his request for rescheduling, the banks started to use coercive means for recovery in violation of the law and the State Bank guidelines to commercial banks. He was humiliated at his residential and business premises. Instead of coming to his rescue, the police aided and abetted the offenders.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.