Warrant issued for KE CEO over power cut at SHC

Irked by power breakdown at the Sindh High Court (SHC) during court proceedings, a judge issued a bailable warrant for the chief executive officer (CEO) of K-Electric through the province’s additional inspector general of police for his appearance in court.

While hearing a case, a single SHC bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar took exception to a prolonged power cut at the court, saying that electricity was unavailable since 9:30am even in the principal seat of the SHC where hundreds of cases were fixed for hearing.

The bench said that due to a prolonged power breakdown, the court was not in a position to proceed with the cases, and issued a bailable warrant for the KE CEO directing him to ensure his appearance before the court.

Representatives of the power utility appeared before the court and, through their counsel, told the bench that the power breakdown had occurred due to a fault in the national transmission network.

The court asked why an alternative power source was not installed on the SHC’s premises despite the payment of millions of rupees in electricity bills. The bench said that hundreds of cases were fixed for hearing, but their proceedings were affected due to the disruption in the power supply.

The court directed the KE officials to submit their written reply before the registrar of the SHC to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the hours the court operates. The bench said that uninterrupted power supply should be ensured during court timings, and also directed the registrar to ensure that an alternative power source is made available so that the court’s proceedings are not disturbed.