SHC moved for booking prisons IG for ‘misusing authority’

A petition has been filed in the Sindh High Court, seeking the registration of a case against the inspector general of prisons and subordinate staff for allegedly misusing authority and an order for the restoration of medical facilities to a former chairman of the Fishermen’s Cooperative Society, Nisar Morai.

Morai is incarcerated in references pertaining to charges of illegal appointments, embezzlement of funds and corruption.

Petitioner Dr Seema Nisar Morai submitted that her spouse Nisar Morai was facing trial before an accountability court pertaining to

illegal appointments, embezzlement of funds and corruption references, and he had been in the Landhi prison for the last two years.

She submitted that her spouse had complained to the minster of prisons during his visit on July 26 about the malpractice by the prison staff and demanding of bribes from relatives of the prisoner in the name of the prisons inspector general.

The petitioner further stated that after her spouse’s complaint to the minister of prisons, the jail authorities became annoyed and they subjected him to severe torture and shifted him to the central prison.

The petitioner’s counsel Khawaja Naveed Ahmed submitted that the life of the petitioner was in danger as he was not being provided medical facilities.

The court was requested to take action against the jail authorities and order the registration of a case against IG prisons Nusrat Mangan and his subordinates for allegedly taking the law into their own hands and misusing state power for their personal grudge.

He requested the court to direct the jail authorities to restore medical facilities to the petitioner’s spouse as per the jail manual and order the transfer of the IG prisons, who had been holding the post for the last 10 years.

Morai and other former officials of the FCS were charged with illegally appointing 400 employees in the FCS during the period between 2014 and July 2017, and giving illegal contracts of construction and embezzlement in trash fish sale without an auction, causing a loss of Rs343.796 million to the national exchequer.

NAB put on notice

The Sindh High Court issued notices to the National Accountability Bureau and others on a petition seeking amendments in the NAB law allowing the accountability court to entertain bail applications in NAB references.

Petitioner Shah Khan submitted that the accountability court had no power to entertain bail applications of the accused facing NAB references, and that was against the fundamental rights of a person seeking a fair trial.

He submitted that the sessions court had powers to decide bail applications of men booked in murder cases, and requested the high court to direct the government to make amendments in the NAB law to enable the trial court to decide bail applications of accused involved in NAB references.