SHC grants protective bail to local government secretary in corruption case

The Sindh High Court on Friday granted interim pre-arrest bail to Local Government Secretary Mohammad Ramzan Awan in an inquiry pertaining to a corruption scam in District Municipal Corporation West, Karachi.

Awan approached the court for interim protective bail against action by the National Accountability Bureau in a corruption and illegal appointments case in DMC West. He submitted that NAB had initiated an inquiry against former administrator DMC West and establishment director with regard to a corruption scam and receiving bribes of Rs18.91 million. In the case, the nominated accused alleged that they used to send a share of the bribe money to the LG secretary through his personal secretary Ramzan Solangi.

Awan further said that he was falsely implicated in the case because being a member of the judicial commission appointed by the Supreme Court to probe Sindh’s civic issues he was taking action against the water mafia in the city.

His counsel said that despite the high court’s restraining order, NAB has issued a call up notice to Awan asked the court to grant him protective pre-arrest bail. The SHC then issued notices to NAB and others for June 18 and in the meantime granted interim protective bail to the petitioner.

In a previous hearing, the court had also directed the local government secretary to join the NAB inquiry as and when he was required by the NAB and ordered to place his name in Exit Control List.

Delimitation of constituencies

Separately, the SHC also issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan, delimitation commissioner and others on petitions against preliminary delimitations of the constituencies for national and provincial assemblies in Jacobabad and Kashmore districts.

Petitioners Ehsan Rehan Mazari, Haji Abdul Rauf Khoso and others had challenged the preliminary delimitations of the constituencies the districts by the delimitation commissioner.

The petitioners’ counsel submitted that the preliminary delimitations for NA-196, NA-197, NA- 198 and NA-199 of Jacobabad, Kashmore and Shikarpur were challenged before the election commission through representation contending that the delimitation commissioner failed to follow the guidelines mandatory under the Section 20 of Election Act in which principles of delimitations have been highlighted.

They submitted that the population of Kashmore and Jacobabad will be affected due to the impugned delimitations as population criteria was not considered while drawing up delimitation of national assembly constituencies in Jacobabad, Kashmore and Shikrapur.

They requested the court to set aside the preliminary delimitation and direct the ECP to issue another preliminary delimitation notification while considering the objections and proposals of the petitioners in conformity with the election laws.

The SHC division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar after a preliminary hearing issued notices to the ECP, delimitation commissioners and others, and called for their comments on May 17.

Lawyers protest

The Sindh Bar Council and other lawyers’ associations will observe a black day today as a mark of protest against the killing of lawyers and political activists who fell victim to violent riots when they went to welcome the then Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary on his arrival in Karachi on May 12, 2007.

Lawyers will hoist black flags at the premises of the high court, district courts and bar associations’ offices and hold meetings to pay tribute to victims of the May 12 mayhem. The bar council and associations appealed to lawyers to abstain from appearing before courts on May 12 and observe a black day against the failure of the government in arresting the culprits involved in the deaths of more than 50 innocent people that day.