HYDERABAD: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, on Wednesday asked the chief executive officer of the Hyderabad Cantonment Board to appear in court on Dec 3 and explain why the board defied the Aug 26, 2005 court order passed on a civil revision application filed by Syed Weedhal Shah and others.

The bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar was seized with a contempt plea filed by the applicants, who stated that the houses, walls and infrastructure built on their property, mentioned in the civil suit, were being demolished by the board in violation of an order passed by Justice Mohammad Moosa K. Leghari of the Sindh High Court on Aug 26, 2005 asking the respondents to maintain a status quo.The bench asked the board’s CEO and Military Estate Officer (MEO) Chaudhry Umar Sadiq to appear in court on Dec 3 along with complete record and reply to the instant application specifying that why they defied the court order.

The applicants’ counsel, Mumtaz Lashari, submitted that the respondent CEO had issued a final notice under Section 5(1) of the Federal Government Lands & Buildings (recovery of possession) Ordinance, 1965, dated Sept 7,2014. He argued that the notice had no legal sanctity in the presence of the status quo order, which had not been vacated.

He prayed to court to restrain the respondents from demolishing the structures built over the property vide survey numbers 117 and 188 classified as B-4. He also prayed to court to initiate contempt proceedings against the respondent officers.

THATTA: An SHC bench headed by Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh on Wednesday admonished a team of police officials and made the Sujawal SP his three colleagues to tender an apology for harassing farmers in the district.

The bench also restrained the Sujawal police from harassing abadgars (small farmers) of the area.

The bench was seized with a constitutional application filed by Syed Makki Shah, a grower having agricultural lands in Muradpur union council of Sujawal district.

The applicant’s counsel, Syed Mureed Ali Shah and Hyder Ali Shah, with the help of some video grabs, submitted that the area police were extorting farmers by harassing them.

Sujawal SP Jan Mohammed Brehmani, Mirpur Bathoro DSP Abdul Khalique Wagan, the Belo SHO and some other policemen who were summoned to the hearing denied the allegation but could not explain contents of the video grabs showing policemen taking away harvested crop.The court ordered their detention in the courtroom for three hours after asking them to deposit their mobile phones with the court staff.

In the meantime, the court registrar obtained necessary information relating to the complaint from the Belo police station through the IGP and came to know that there was no record of any order given to the Belo police station for raid or action against farmers in the Muradpur union council area.

Pronouncing his verdict, Judge Mohammed Riaz Rajput, said in case of default on the fine money, the convicts would have to undergo an additional one year and nine months rigorous imprisonment.

Disposing of the application, the court asked the Sujawal SP to refrain from harassing abadgars and tendered an apology with the court over the misdeeds of the personnel concerned.

LARKANA: The Larkana anti-terrorism court on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to three accused in a murder case and imposed a fine of Rs220,000 on them.

Ghulam Qadir, Sharif and Ashique Chandio were found guilty of firing on a trader, Mohammed Hafeez Shaikh, and his brother, Jawed Shaikh, at Chandka Bridge on March 19, 2012. Hafeez Shaikh was killed and Jawed Shaikh was wounded in the attack. A case was registered against them at the Civil Lines police station.

While Sharif and Ashique Chandio have been declared absconder in the case, Ghulam Qadir was produced in the court when the verdict was pronounced. He was sent to the jail to serve out the sentence.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2014