Contempt notice to Prisons IG in detention case

LAHORE

The Lahore High Court on Friday issued contempt notice to Punjab inspector general of prisons on a contempt of court petition against him for detaining a man despite completing his full sentence in a case of attacking former General (r) Pervez Musharraf in 2003.

Justice Shahid Hameed Dar was hearing contempt petition moved by convict’s mother against the IG prisons for not complying with a previous order of the court wherein jail authorities were asked to recalculate sentence of her son after including all remission granted to prisoners by government and apprise the court of his possible release date. 

The petitioner Saira Khan through her counsel Advocate Mujahid Waseem contended that her son Khan had undergone his jail term handed down by a military court but the authorities were delaying his release.

He argued that the IG prisons committed contempt of court by ignoring the order and deserved strict action under contempt of court law.

The counsel stated the military court awarded 15-year punishment to Khan but did not give him the benefit of the reduction of imprisonment he underwent prior to issuance of final verdict under Section 382-B of CrPC. He said the convict was arrested in 2003 but was deprived of the benefit of the said provision of law. He said a single bench of the high court at Rawalpindi had dismissed a petition of the convict to this effect; however, a division bench later allowed his intra court appeal directing the jail authorities to impart benefit of Section 382-B of CrPC and other government remissions to the civilian convict. He said the detention of the convict was illegal as he had already undergone his sentence. He asked the court to order the jail authorities to release the petitioner’s son.

The court issued notice to the respondent and directed him to submit his reply within two weeks.

regularisation case: The Lahore High Court has directed Punjab environment protection department secretary to implement in letter and spirit a court’s earlier order about regularisation of 39 contract employees within one month and submit a compliance report. 

Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh issued this order while hearing a contempt of court petition moved by Shazia Pervaiz and others against EPD secretary Punjab Dr Iqbal Muhammad Chohan. 

The petitioners through their counsel Naveed Ahmed Khawaja argued that the same court had passed an order six months back on March 3, 2106 wherein the court directed respondent department to consider the cases of 39 contract employees for regularisation of their services. The petitioners also approached the secretary along with court order and an application. However, despite the lapse of six months the respondent secretary was reluctant to regularise the services of the petitioners in violation of court order.

An official on behalf of the EPD turned up before the court and sought some time to implement court’s order. On it, the court allowed the EPD one month time to enforce order and adjourned hearing. 

The counsel contended that they were employed by PEPD on contract basis for a project “Regulatory control on environment degradation through capacity building of environment protection agency, Punjab. The period of project was initially till June 6, 2013 but later it was extended up to December 12, 2013. However, the project was transferred to non-development side along with 39 employees on January 1, 2014. The petitioner claimed that the CM had also ordered transfer of 39 employees to non-development side but the department was not considering their request.