KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed the provincial chief and home secretaries to ensure within three weeks sanctioning by the chief minister of funds required for facilities for effective investigations into rape cases.

A two-judge bench, comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed, gave this direction while hearing a petition jointly filed by three rape victims seeking implementation of the Supreme Court’s guidelines in rape cases and the establishment of rape crisis cells at the district level.

On Thursday, Home Secretary Dr Usman Chachar informed the bench that a summary had been moved to the chief minister through the provincial finance department for sanctioning funds and a decision in that regard was awaited.

The bench directed both the chief secretary and the home secretary to expedite the matter and ensure that within three weeks the amount was sanctioned by the CM and submit a progress report to the court.

Earlier, in compliance of the court’s last order, the SHC’s Member Inspection Team-II Abdul Razzak filed progress reports of each district separately.

He submitted that in some districts the compliance had been made, but there were some issues of funds also for which the district judges had sent their requisitions to the SHC, which had been placed before the chief justice and had been forwarded to the finance director for arrangement and allocation of appropriate funds.

The bench directed the MIT-II to also submit a progress report on the next date explaining if some efforts had been made by the finance director for the allocation and release of required funds.

Regarding the rape cases pending before the antiterrorism courts, the MIT-II submitted that according to the ATCs compliance was being made but he requested the bench to summon the ATCs’ registrar on the next date to ensure compliance.

The bench issued a notice to the registrar, ATCs, to personally appear on the next date with all the requisite details.

The petitioners’ counsel, Mohamed Vawda, said three rape cases were fixed in the court of the Additional District and Sessions Judge-V (Malir), Additional District and Sessions’ Judge-XII (West) and the Additional District and Sessions Judge-VI (Central), but the presiding officers were not following the protocol mentioned in the judgement of the Supreme Court.

The bench asked him to supply details of the cases to the MIT-II, who would examine if all protocols provided in the SC judgement and the SHC were being followed by the said presiding officers.

Additional IG (legal) Zulfiqar Ali Mahar and the additional chief secretary for home filed their respective progress reports and also addressed the court that in compliance of the last directions they had held a meeting in which various aspects were discussed.

The court was informed that it had been decided that some amount-in-aid would be sanctioned for utilisation for the payment of the DNA tests in all rape cases and the payment would be made to the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) and LUMHS.

AIG Mahar further submitted that the payment of 166 cases of DNA testing had been made to the University of Karachi. He added that 46 reports were pending in the Karachi laboratory and 235 at LUMHS.

Sindh IGP Syed Kaleem Imam appeared before the bench and assured it that within a few days the entire payment would be made and the reports would be collected from the laboratories for onward submission to the prosecution and court.

The bench directed them to submit a progress report on the next date.

The IGP also filed a revised standard operating procedure (SOP) for the investigation into rape cases and provided its copy to the petitioners’ counsel.

The bench issued notices to Prof Bhika Ram Devraja of the LUMHS and Dr Javed Iqbal of the ICCBS to appear in person on the next date of hearing to assist the court.

Adjourning hearing till March 25, the bench directed that all the officers present before the court, including the IGP, should ensure their presence for proper assistance of the court on the next date.

Delhi Colony illegal building

The SHC on Thursday expressed its displeasure with the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) officials over their failure to demolish an illegal high-rise building in Delhi Colony in compliance of its order passed a year ago.

A two-judge bench, comprising Justices Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan, directed a lawyer representing the cantonment board to submit a reply in this regard and adjourned the hearing till April 7.

The bench was hearing a petition seeking a direction for the CBC chief executive officer and others to demolish an 11-storey building constructed on a 70-square-yard plot, A-35/8, Street-4, Delhi Colony, allegedly without obtaining a building plan approved by the cantonment.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2020