KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) Tuesday appointed Nazir as commissioner to visit the Axact’s channel premises where the equipment, as mentioned in customs department’s detention notice, was installed or available after serving due notice on the defendant officials.
The court directed that the Nazir will prepare his own inventory with regard to the equipment that is installed or available at the location as identified in the detention notice on the building of BOL as well as the vehicles present there.
The court ordered that in case no customs representative appears before the Nazir despite issuance of notices, then the exercise must nonetheless be carried out. The official was also asked to take photographs of the site and present report by or before the next date of hearing.
The court allowed the customs authorities to continue their proceedings against the Bol TV; however, it restrained them from taking any action or initiating proceedings in respect of the equipment of Axact’s channel without its prior permission.
Plaintiff Labaik and Bol TV’s management had approached the court against the customs authorities for initiating proceedings against the equipment procured and installed by the channel and the FIA officials for taking important documents into their custody.
The court was pleaded to order the release of the seized equipment.The court observed that the customs authorities may continue their proceedings initiated under Section 26 of Customs Act, 1969.
The plaintiff companies, including Axact’s channel and others, were also directed to associate themselves with the proceedings to the extent that it was possible for them to do so on the basis of averments as made in the plaint.
Plaintiff counsel Abid S Zuberi submitted that a substantial part of documentation in respect of BOL’s equipment had been seized by the FIA in connection with proceedings against a sister company of the plaintiff named
Axact Private Limited under the FIR No. 7/2015 which has been registered by the FIA.
The court directed the Nazir to communicate with the Director Sindh FIA to ascertain whether they were currently holding any documentation.It directed the FIA that if any documentation was available with them then the particulars of the same must be supplied immediately to the SHC’s Nazir, who will prepare a supplementary report which preferably should be filed by or before the next date of hearing.
The court issued notices to the customs authorities, federal law officers and others for June 8.It should be noted that FIA has twice given several days time to the Axact’s channel’s management to produce documents of the equipment but they failed and afterwards approached the Sindh High Court.