KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday further restrained the authorities from taking any adverse action against the former Shikarpur SSP as the provincial law officer sought time to file a reply in a petition challenging a notification of an inquiry committee constituted by the provincial authorities against the former SSP.

In the last hearing, the SHC had had restrained the provincial authorities from taking any adverse action against former Shikarpur SSP Dr Rizwan Ahmed till March 17 after the court was informed that the fact-finding inquiry had been completed and the matter sent to the competent authority for approval and further action.

When the matter came up for hearing before the two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar on Tuesday, the advocate general of Sindh appeared before the bench and sought time to submit a reply.

The bench adjourned the hearing till April 1 and ruled that the restraining order would remain in the field till next hearing.

Mansoor Ahmed and others through their counsel petitioned the SHC and argued that a notification was issued on a directive of the chief minister for the constitution of an inquiry committee against SSP Dr Rizwan Ahmed.

They maintained that under the law, the inspector general of police (IGP) was in charge of the police force, but the inquiry committee was constituted without consulting the provincial police officer of Sindh as in his letter to the Sindh chief secretary and then IG of Sindh Dr Syed Kaleem Imam said that he was not consulted before notifying the inquiry committee.

The petitioners alleged that the provincial authorities were meddling in the affairs of the Sindh police and pleaded to set aside the notification.

Bail granted

Another bench of the SHC on Tuesday granted bail to an accused in a land-grabbing reference.

Mohammad Shakir, alias Shakir Langra, through his lawyer moved a post-arrest bail application. After hearing both sides, the two-judge bench headed by Justice K.K. Agha granted bail against a surety bond of Rs1 million.

The accused with some officials of the Karachi Development Authority and others has been facing trial before an accountability court for allegedly accepting millions of rupees in return for making fake documents to create 281 residential plots on amenity plots, better known as china-cutting, in Surjani Town.

The prosecution said that these plots were later sold to private parties, causing a loss of Rs168 million to the national exchequer.

The National Accountability Bureau had arrested the accused in December 2016.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2020