HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court on Wednesday dismissed as unmaintainable a constitutional petition filed by the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) president Mohammad Ikram Rajput and vice president Iqbal Hussain Baig, challenging attempt to de-seat the president and sealing of his office by police.

The division bench comprising Justices Abdul Maalik Gaddi and Mohammad Karim Khan Agha further ordered police to lodge case of Mr Rajput’s forged signature on his fabricated resignation letter if a cognizable offence was made out. The bench had reserved the order on Monday after hearing counsel of the two sides.

The court agreed with HCCI’s counsel Riazat Ali Sehar that the matter involved a factual inquiry into the resignation letter of Mr Rajput to establish whether it was fabricated or not.

Justice Agha wrote in the judgment: “In our view, to answer question whether petitioner-1’s (Mr Rajput) resignation letter was fabricated or not which to our mind remains the crux of the petitioner-1’s case, a full inquiry is likely to be needed, the recording of evidence may be required and even use of handwriting expert resorted to. Such factual inquiry as alluded to above is beyond the scope of this court’s jurisdiction under Article 199 of Constitution”.

Ishrat Ali Lohar, counsel for HCCI president and vice president, said that the resignation letter had been forged by other members of HCCI in collusion with former HCCI president Seth Goharullah and police.

He said the petitioner was still president of HCCI and his position had been illegally usurped because neither procedure for accepting the resignation nor appointing a new president had been followed as per memorandum and articles of association of HCCI.

He argued the fact that it was a choreo­graphed affair was clear from the alleged resignation letter received by HCCI on July 7, 2018, and the meeting of executive committee the same day which removed Mr Rajput as president without hearing him and installed a new president in a hurry.

He said the president was ousted after he decided to look into the chamber’s accounts and seek information of financial issues of HCCI which in his view would have potentially exposed wrongdoing on the part of the former president and other members of HCCI.

He said that police were hand in glove with private respondents (former HCCI president Seth Goharullah, controversially installed president Mohammad Shahid and others) hence they had refused to register the petitioner’s FIR against forgery of his resignation letter.

Police had sealed the office and denied his client access and later handed over key of his office to the controversial president, he said.

He said that HCCI was established under Trade Organisation Act 2013 and not Companies Act 2017 and as such the court could entertain this matter which fell within this constitutional jurisdiction.

But Mr Sehar contended that Mr Rajput’s letter was not a forgery and that the petitioner had submitted it and that now he was trying to retract it which was not possible.

The new president had been elected in accordance with relevant rules governing elections of HCCI, he said adding that the court had no jurisdiction to hear this matter as it fell within exclusive domain of Companies Act 2017 and had to be placed before companies bench of the court.

He said that even otherwise the issues at hand concerned a number of factual controversies which this court could not go into within its constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199 thus the petition was not maintainable.

Additional Advocate General Sindh Allah Bachayo Soomro also concurred the court had no jurisdiction to hear this case and noted that Trade Organisation Act 2013 precluded a high court hearing this matter.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2018