KARACHI: Govt restrained from issuing job letters to college teachers
KARACHI, Sept 24: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday restrained the provincial government from making fresh appointments to the posts of college teachers till the next date of hearing of a writ petition moved by 239 candidates already issued appointment letters.
The petitioners said they were among the 650 successful candidates recommended by the Sindh Public Service Commission for appointment as lecturers in colleges in 27 districts. The process started with submission of applications in 2005 and culminated in issuance of offer letters early this year.
However, only 11 of them were issued posting orders for reasons best known to the authorities. They said 2,000 posts of lecturers were lying vacant in the province’s colleges yet the government was withholding posting of successful candidates who had cleared the lengthy selections process.
The petition was moved on Sept 16 and notices to the chief secretary, the education secretary and the SPSC were issued for Sept 24 of Sept 19. Advocate Syed Shoaun Nabi sought a restraint order apprehending that the government might be contemplating new recruitment. The bench, however, declined an interim order as notices had already been issued for an early date. As the petition came up before a division bench comprising Justices Khilji Arif Hussain and Bin Yamin, the counsel informed it that fresh applications were invited to the vacancies on Sept 21.
Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan appeared for the provincial government and sought time to seek instructions and file comments. The bench gave him until October 21to submit a reply but restrained the respondent department from making fresh appointments to the posts in the meantime.
Relief for dist attorneys
The bench, meanwhile, disposed of a petition moved by seven deputy and assistant district attorneys for absorption in the criminal prosecution service in terms of an official assurance. They said they had been working as law officers at the district level prior to the creation of the prosecution service. When the criminal prosecution service ordinance was promulgated in 2006, its Section 8 (4) gave them one-time option to serve in the new serve.
They opted for induction but were ignored and fresh applications were invited for direct recruitment to the posts of assistant and deputy public prosecutors at the district level.
Advocate Mohammad Nawaz Shaikh, counsel for the petitioners, argued that they had a prior right to be inducted in the new service in accordance with their seniority.
Advocate Mir Mohammad Shaikh, secretary of the prosecution department, and Additional Advocate-General Masood A. Noorani said the government or the department had no objection to the induction of the petitioners. The bench disposed of the petition in terms of the statements of the respondents.
City govt police station
The Sindh High Court summoned the home secretary to appear on October 7 to explain why the city district government police station had no power to register a case and investigate it under Section 154 of the criminal procedure code.
The executive district officer for municipal services was also directed to appear on the same date to state why the police station had not been supplied a mobile van or vans and telecommunication equipment and other facilities normally available to police stations.
The Karachi Building Control Authority chief controller of buildings was also asked to appear to clarify why controllers and deputy controllers of buildings were frequently transferred. If an official was performing his duties unsatisfactorily, a division bench comprising Justices Munib Ahmed Khan and Rana Mohammad Shamim observed, he should be proceeded against the efficiency and discipline rules. Transfer as punishment could not improve the working as the transferee would work inefficiently even in his new assignment.
The bench was hearing a petition against an offending structure in Garden West, Saddar Town, which had been ordered to be demolished. The KBCA said it had no police assistance to comply with the court order and the CDGK said it had a police station only in name. The controller of buildings said he was not fully conversant with the facts of the case as he assumed charge over only recently.
The bench recorded the statement of station house officer Sagheer Hussain, who appeared in response to a notice. The SHO said it had only 35 policemen on its staff. Four of them were disabled and 16 of them were either on leave preparatory to retirement or on deputation. Not more than 15 constables were thus available to it at any given time.
The station, the SHO stated, had been assigned the responsibility to look after the CDGK, the KBCA and the defunct KDA but it had no transport of its own. There were no mobile vans or phones. The Mazda double cabin vehicle given to it mostly remained in the service of other police officials.
What constrained the police station most, the SHO said, was its legal disability to register a first information report under Section 154 of the criminal procedure code.
Customs, KPT restrained
Another division bench comprising Justices Mohammad Athar Saeed and Qamaruddin Bohra barred the customs department and the Karachi Port Trust from releasing the three vehicles named as a case property in a criminal case without the permission of the court.
Advocate Javed Ahmed Chhatari submitted on behalf of petitioner Sarmad Shafiq that he delivered documents of the three vehicles imported from Japan as personal baggage to a clearing agent. However, the documents were stolen by one of his employees, Mohammad Ali Shah, and he lodged a theft case at the People’s Colony police station, Faisalabad.
The bench wondered how the customs and KPT staff entertained the application of the accused employee for release of the vehicles knowing that he was involved in a criminal case and that the vehicles constituted case property.
Meanwhile, Sarmad Shafiq moved a private criminal complaint against the delinquent customs officials before a sessions court under Section 22-A of thr criminal procedure code. The court ordered registration of a case under Sections 420, 468 and 471 and complainant lodged the FIR at the Jackson police station.
Haj operators
A Sindh High Court division bench disposed of a petition moved by Haj group operators with a guideline for allocation of quotas in the future.
The bench, which consisted of Justice Mohammad Athar Saeed and Qamaruddin Bohra, observed that the quotas allocated to the various private Haj operators would serve as the benchmark and any increase or decrease would be initiated at least six months before the likely date of the pilgrimage so that the operators know beforehand how many pilgrims they could bring on board and make arrangements for them. The operators facing curtailment of his quota should be issued a show cause notice and also afforded an opportunity to explain his position in respect of his ability to make appropriate arrangements. Similarly, any increase in an operator’s quota should be subject to an intelligible criterion. The operators should know the basis on which the quotas were likely to be altered.
One of the petitioner operators, Alamgir, became so dejected over reduction of his quota from 1,300 Hajis in 2007 to 300 in 2008 that it surrendered its quota during the court proceedings. The bench ordered that its quota should be equally distributed among the remaining three petitioners, including Al Khair and Al Baraka, which earlier had a quota of 600 each but were allowed to take 300 pilgrims each this year.
The petitioners, represented by Advocates Abdid S. Zuberi, Khalid Jawaid Khan and Sana Akram Minhas, alleged that quotas were raised or reduced to oblige political favourites. Deputy Attorney-General Amer Raza Naqvi, however, informed the bench that quotas were re-allocated to comply with a Supreme Court judgment, which said the private Haj operators should be allocated quotas equitably. The new allocation policy was aimed at achieving justice, uniformity and consistency, the law officer said.
The date for applications for quotas was extended till October 1 and the Haj director present at the proceedings was directed to star furnishing applications straightaway. The applications have to be given and entertained on the court’s direction and the Haj ministry secretary’s permission was not required. The director would be personally responsible for any delay, the bench warned.