KARACHI: Noor Mohammad, who was convicted over the charges of kidnapping, rape and murder of three-year-old girl Sana, filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence by an ATC for Karachi division, here on Monday before Anti Terrorism Appellate bench of the Sindh High Court.
The appeal was filed well within the stipulated time of seven days available to a convict. He was awarded death sentence for murder besides a 10-year term for raping the minor girl and also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 100,000 to the heirs of the victim.
Claim and counter-claim by army, villagers: A division bench of the SHC on Wednesday ordered a Board of Revenue (BoR) senior member to examine the claim and counter-claim of title of 2,000 acres of land made by the Pakistan Army and 40 villagers with due notice to the parties and concerned officials.
The bench comprising Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Mohammad Ather Saeed earlier heard the counsels for respective sides. The counsel for petitioner Haji Adam and nine other villagers submitted that petitioners and their forefathers are in possession of the land since 1820 and the entire land was developed and made cultivable by them at a cost of millions of rupees over the years. The maintained that they hold a valid land lease up to year 2023. The men from Corp 5 came to the land and directed the petitioners to vacate it after a survey. They demarcated the same and now intend to dispossess the petitioners from land cultivated by their ancestors. The bench also took a report of nazir on record, according to which 10,980 acres of land was allotted to the Pakistan Army. The Sindh additional advocate general representing the provincial government conceded that the Pak Army is apparently in possession of an excessive area and it has been encroached. He also submitted that the area belongs to the Sindh government. Faced with a dissenting statements by the federal and provincial law officers, the bench ordered a BoR senior member to examine the claims and counter-claims and decide the issue of title with in a period of three months.
FPSC put on notice: The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) chairman, Secretary, assistant director (CSS) and establishment federal secretary were put on notice by a division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) comprising Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Mohammad Ather Saeed here on Wednesday.
The bench was seized with the hearing of a constitution petition filed by 10 candidates who appeared in the written examinations for competitive exams in the year 2008 but were not called for viva and physiological tests as their aggregate marks were below 50 percent. The petitioners challenging the said rule of minimum aggregate marks maintained that before 1999, no such condition or bar was in place. They relied on Article 37 of the Constitution of Pakistan allowing quota for the people from backward and underdeveloped areas. They prayed to the court to declare Rule 11 (1) of Competitive Exam Rules 2008 as illegal and ultra vires of Article 4, 25,27 and 37 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Source: Daily Times
Date:9/3/2009
