KARACHI: SHC hears plea for adoption of Urdu as national language
KARACHI, Dec 2: The Sindh High Court adjourned on Tuesday the hearing of a petition seeking adoption of Urdu as official language to enable a deputy attorney-general to seek instructions from the federal government.
In his rejoinder to the federal cabinet division comments on his petition, petitioner-lawyer Islam Hussain submitted before a division bench that Urdu was the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan and the 1973 Constitution had initially prescribed a 10-year period for its use as the official language. The deadline was later extended twice and the extended period also expired but no measures had been taken to meet the constitutional requirement.
So far as the work of the National Language Authority was concerned, the lawyer said, it was highly commendable. Certain other organizations had also rendered valuable service to facilitate early adoption of the national language as the official language. However, he added, more than publication of dictionaries and translation of terminology of various disciplines, a strong will was required to take decisive measures. India switched over to Hindi soon after its independence.
The Sindhi language, the lawyer submitted, should also be made the medium of instruction up the middle standard in the province in accordance with the relevant principle of policy. At its end, the lawyer submitted, the SHC could move a step forward by accepting Urdu annexure to petitions and other pleadings without their translation in English. He sought a court direction prescribing a timeframe for use of Urdu as the official language.
Deputy Attorney-General Ashraf Khan Mughal requested the bench, which consisted of Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Qamaruddin Bohra, to allow him time to consult the cabinet division on the proposition of prescribing a time-limit and the bench adjourned the hearing to a date in office.
Sugar mill auction
Another division bench comprising Justices Khilji Arif Hussain and Ghulam Dastgir A. Shahani adjourned a bidder’s appeal for sale of the Thatta Sugar Mill to him without a fresh auction to enable Assistant Advocate-General Adnan Karim Memon to find out whether the chief minister had taken decision on the matter.
The appellants, M/s SooraJ Enterprises, submitted a bid of Rs175 million for the mill, which had gone into liquidation along with other sugar factories owned by the Sindh Sugar Corporation. The SHC company judge appointed the court’s official assignee as the liquidator. The liquidated invited bids and the appellants submitted the highest bid, which was much lower than the reserved price of Rs230 million. The company judge advised the assignee to hold a fresh auction, rejecting the appellants concern’s plea to improve its bid.
The concern challenged the company judge’s order and offered to raise its bid to the reserved price of Rs230 million. A summary for a fresh bid had meanwhile been moved to obtain the chief minister’s approval for the proposed fresh bid. The appellants said being the highest bidder, they had a right to improve their bid and purchase the mill at the reserved price.
Bail granted
The CJ, meanwhile, granted interim bail to Babu Sarwar Sial, a PML (Q) central committee member from Larkana, in three cases in the sum of Rs50,000 each.
Advocate Wasique Ahmed Kehar submitted on behalf of the applicant that the cases involving rioting, etc were registered in 1999 without the police intimating him or calling him for investigation. The applicant had no knowledge of the cases until recently when the new government took over and started victimization of its political opponents. The dormant nine-year-old cases were not only revived but the police wanted to arrest him in them. He said the police action to revive the cases was mala fide.
Granting interim bail, the CJ issued a notice to the advocate-general for Dec 15.
Irrigation ‘scam’
The CJ also asked the AG to assist the court in dealing with an application for high-level judicial probe into an allegedly massive misappropriation of funds in the irrigation department.
Applicant Amir Khan Kundi alleged that the former irrigation minister and high-ups caused a loss of Rs300 million to the public exchequer and a commission comprising retired judges of the superior courts should be constituted to probe into the bungling. The AG was asked to submit his opinion by Jan 1, 2009.
Compensation paid
Police assistant inspector-general (legal) Anwar Subhani, meanwhile, informed the bench comprising Justices K.A. Hussain and G.D.A. Shahani that all formalities to deposit an amount of Rs185,000 with the SHC nazir had been completed.
The court had awarded the amount in 2001 as compensation for Gulzar Ahmed’s illegal detention on the charge of killing his two brothers-in-law. The prosecution proved to be malicious, as a result of which Gulzar lost his job and his wife sued him for dissolution of their marriage. He was found to have been held in illegal detention for 37 days and compensation was awarded to him at the rate of Rs5,000 per day.