KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has said that the secretary of excise, taxation and narcotics control department will have to appear on the next date of hearing if a comprehensive report about disposal of narcotics recovered over the last 10 years in the province was not filed by Nov 28.

The order was passed by a two-judge bench comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Adnan-Ul-Karim Memon.

The bench noted that at the last hearing, it had ordered the secretaries of home and excise, taxation & narcotics control departments to file such reports along with photographs and video clips as evidence and also file a report in case of non-availability of such mechanism.

At the outset of the hearing, the representatives of both departments appeared in court and submitted interim reports.

However, they were unable to produce or explain the same in detail and sought time to file comprehensive reports about disposal of recovered narcotics.

As an indulgence and with last chance, the bench directed them to file the report on the places where such narcotics had been destroyed, under whose supervision, whether by any magistrate or deputy commissioner, and in accordance with which rules.

“In case of failure, secretary excise/narcotic [control] shall be in attendance with justification,” it added.

The Sindh High Court adjourned the matter till Nov 28.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2024