Contempt notices issued against KE chief, others

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday issued notices to the chief executive officer and other officials of K-Electric on a contempt of court application.

Karamat Ali and others filed an application seeking contempt of court proceedings against the KE CEO and four other officials of the power utility for their alleged consciously, deliberately and wilfully subverting, undermining and violation of a May 29, 2017 SHC order.

A two-judge SHC bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi issued notices to the KE officials for Oct 30 directing them to file their comments.

Petitioners’ lawyer Faisal Siddiqui submitted that the SHC in its order had directed the KE to ensure implementation of a decision of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) which directed the power utility to ensure uninterrupted supply and distribution of electricity in Karachi.

He maintained that the SHC had also observed that Nepra would be at liberty to take appropriate action in accordance with the law against KE in case of non-compliance.

The counsel argued that Nepra bound down KE to ensure that there would be no reduction or underutilisation of generation capacity of electricity as well as distribution through well-maintained channels, feeders and cables in accordance with the maintenance plan specified in its investment plan, but KE failed to comply.

He contended that KE was still continuing with discriminatory, excessive and unannounced loadshedding and the same was evident from a recent order passed by Nepra in which it imposed a fine Rs5 million on the power utility.

Hearing adjourned

Another SHC bench adjourned the hearing on a bail application of a former director general of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) and others and directed the National Accountability Bureau to file reference within a week.

Former KDA chief Syed Nasir Abbas and some other suspects moved their bail applications submitting that there was no evidence against the applicants.

However, NAB prosecutor argued that an investigation was being conducted on the allegations of corruption and misuse of authority against them and a reference would be filed soon.

The bench expressed displeasure with NAB for not filing a reference despite the passage of over three months and directed it to file the reference by next Friday.

Initially, the Federal Investigation Agency had arrested the then KDA chief in September last year after lodging a case against him for allegedly concealing his government job to obtain a passport by declaring himself a businessman. Later, the FIA also booked him in another case pertaining to money laundering and then he was handed over to NAB.

NAB had also filed a reference against the former KDA chief and director Syed Obaid Ahmed earlier this year for allegedly approving amenity plots for illegal use by converting the status of such public welfare spaces into commercial land causing a loss of over Rs350m to national exchequer.

Source: Dawn News