SHC tells IGP to submit report on action taken against gutka and mainpuri sellers

The Sindh High Court on Monday directed the inspector general of police of the province to submit a consolidated report with regard to action taken against gutka and mainpuri sellers and manufacturers all over the province.

Hearing petitions seeking a ban on the sale and manufacturing of gutka and mainpuri in the province, a single bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar observed that some police officials had filed reports with regard to action being taken against gutka and mainpuri sellers in their districts, which were taken on record.

The court directed the IGP to depute a focal person not below the rank of DIG who would submit a consolidated report covering all districts of the province. It had earlier observed that as per doctors, the primary reason behind the prevalence of mouth cancer in Pakistan was the use of gutka, mainpuri and mawa.

The high court had also expressed concern over a report filed by the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre’s (JPMC) cancer ward incharge, which states that as many as 18,614 cancer patients received treatment at the JPMC during the last five years, of whom 9,453 cases were of mouth cancer.

DG bureau of supply

The Sindh High Court took exception to the non-appointment of the Bureau of Supply and Prices director general and directed the provincial law office to tell why the appointment had not been made despite court directions.

Hearing a petition seeking the enforcement of laws pertaining to the control of hoarding and black market of essential commodities in the province, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh inquired the provincial law officer as to why the appointment had not been made despite directions of the court. It directed the law officer to submit a report with regard to the fixing of prices of essential commodities.

The petitioner, M Tariq Mansoor, submitted that the regular appointment of the director general had not been made for the last 10 years, and other posts of the secretary, additional secretary and director supply of the bureau of supply, pricing and registration under the Sindh Registration of Godown Act were also vacant.

He said several laws to check and control the hoarding and black market of essential commodities, including the Sindh Registration of Godown Act, Hoarding and Black Market Act 1948 and Sindh Essential Commodities Price Control & Prevention of Profiting and Hoarding Act 2005, were promulgated time to time by the provincial government, but the same were not being enforced in letter and spirit.

He said the Sindh Registration of Godown Act 1995 had been promulgated some 25 years back, but it could not be enforced properly, as a result of which the citizens were facing artificial crises and a shortage of essential commodities such as tomatoes, onion, sugar and wheat, and became victims of black markets, hoarding and profiteering by unscrupulous elements.