Stray dogs’ case: Sindh govt requests SHC to transfer case to principal seat

KARACHI: The Sindh government approached the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday, requesting the court to transfer the stray dogs’ case from its Sukkur bench to principal seat, Karachi, for suspending the membership of two members of the provincial assembly.

The provincial government filed the appeal a day after one of the high court’s judges, Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar, had suspended two members of the Sindh Assembly, Faryal Talpur and Malik Asad Iskandar.

In the petition, the Sindh government submitted, among other things, that the order was “in clear violation and disregard” of the Supreme Court's order dated 27.01.2021 passed by a three-member bench in C.P. 446-1, of 2019 in which the Supreme Court has reiterated that High Courts do not enjoy suo moto jurisdiction under Article 199 and deprecated judicial overreach, noting that there must be a dispute on the application of an aggrieved person before the High Court for it to exercise judicial power. The provincial government stated that the court was informed about the bench not only in the said cases but also in other petitions. The Sindh government said, “It no longer feels that it can be treated fairly, justly and in accordance with law by any bench of which Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar is a member”.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021