South district & sessions court judge told to respond to contempt plea

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday directed the South district & sessions court judge to file comments on a contempt application filed against him for not complying with the directives of the high court.

On September 19 the high court had directed the district court to release the Defence Savings Certificates of two minors, whose inheritance shares were deposited to the Nazir of the court in September 1984 in a succession case, after due verification and identification in accordance with the law.

Petitioner Qamar Jehan filed a petition in the high court against the refusal of the district court to issue the certificates to the minors along with the profit that was deposited to the Nazir on September 27, 1984.

Jehan’s counsel Agha Syed Attaullah Shah said the petitioner’s spouse Abdul Ghani had expired on August 1, 1983 and it was ordered in the succession case of the petitioner that the shares of the minor children of the petitioner in the profitable scheme would be deposited to the Nazir of the court and be issued to them after they reach the age of majority.

The counsel said the amount was deposited to the Nazir in the shape of Defence Savings Certificates. He said the petitioner approached the sessions court for obtaining the certificates of the two minors after they attained the age of majority, but the South district & sessions judge on February 2, 2015 had directed the petitioner to approach the competent court of the law for filing a suit of recovery.

The counsel said the observation of the district court was not in accordance with the law, as the petitioner had deposited the shares to the Nazir of the sessions court and the minors, after attaining the age of majority, are legally entitled to receive their shares from the court in accordance with the law.

Filing a contempt application against the judge and the Nazir of the court, the applicant’s counsel submitted that the order of the high court has not been complied with. The SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi observed that prima facie, it cannot be expected that any judicial officer can violate the court’s order.

The bench observed that according to the counsel, the high court’s order was not complied with, so the South district & sessions court judge is directed to file his comments within two weeks.