Latest news with #2019Act
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
'Outsiders' appointed to top prison posts following jailbreak
The Sindh government has started appointing officers from non-prison service groups to senior positions within the provincial prison system. This move comes in the wake of a major jailbreak at Malir District Jail, where more than 200 inmates escaped earlier this week. On Thursday, the Sindh government appointed Fida Hussain Mastoi, a Federal Police Service officer and current DIG of Traffic Police Hyderabad, as IG Prisons. This marks the first time an officer from outside the Prisons Service Group has been appointed to this role. The appointment follows the promulgation of an ordinance amending the Sindh Prisons and Correctional Services Act, 2019. Issued by Acting Governor Owais Qadir Shah, the ordinance allows officers from other federal and provincial services, including the Pakistan Administrative Service, Police Service of Pakistan, and the Provincial Management Service, to be appointed to senior prison posts such as IG Prisons, DIG Prisons, and Senior Superintendent of Jails. The revised law also grants the Provincial Minister for Prisons, Haji Ali Hassan Zardari, the authority to directly appoint Senior Superintendents of Jails in major facilities, including Karachi Central Jail. Previously, such appointments were made on the recommendation of the Home Department, which forwarded candidate summaries to the Chief Secretary for approval. Until now, only officers from the Prisons Service Group were eligible for top positions in the Sindh Prisons Department, in accordance with the 2019 Act. With this ordinance, that restriction has been lifted, and officers from other backgrounds, including Sindh Police, are now eligible for prison leadership roles. The timing of the ordinance has raised eyebrows, as it was issued just hours after the high-profile security breach at Malir Jail. In response to the escape, the Sindh government has dismissed IG Prisons Qazi Nazir and suspended DIG Prisons Muhammad Hassan Sehto, along with the superintendent, deputy superintendent, and several jail officials. Inmates sent on judicial remand An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday remanded 115 inmates to judicial custody in connection with the recent jailbreak at District Jail Malir. The prisoners were brought under heavy security to the Anti-Terrorism Complex located within Karachi Central Jail. During the hearing, the court strongly criticised police for submitting an incomplete remand report.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
We are duty-bound to order performance audit of laws: SC
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said that in the Indian legislative system, where most bills are introduced by govt and very few private members' bills are presented and debated in Parliament, it becomes the apex court's duty to direct performance audit and assessment of impact of legislations. While upholding constitutional validity of provisions of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) relating to pecuniary jurisdiction of district, state and national consumer foras, a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra asked the Central Consumer Protection Council ( CCPC ) and the Central Consumer Protection Authority ( CCPA ) to "survey review and advise the govt about measures for effective and efficient redressal and working of the statute." Two petitioners had challenged the validity of the provisions of the 2019 legislation on the ground that the 2019 Act shifts the basis of the pecuniary jurisdiction of the district, state as well as national commission from value of compensation claimed under the repealed 1986 Act to value of the consideration paid for the goods and services Writing the judgment and emphasising the need for periodic review of legislations to understand its working and changes required, Justice Narasimha said, "A peculiar feature of how our legislative system works is that an overwhelming majority of legislations are introduced and carried through by the Government, with very few private member bills being introduced and debated." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Chungcheongbuk-do: AI guru Andrew Ng recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Aroun... Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo "In such circumstances, the judicial role does encompass, in this Court's understanding, the power, nay the duty to direct the executive branch to review the working of statutes and audit the statutory impact." "It is not possible to exhaustively enlist the circumstances and standards that will trigger such a judicial direction. One can only state that this direction must be predicated on a finding that the statute has, through demonstrable judicial data or other cogent material, failed to ameliorate the conditions of the beneficiaries," he said. The SC said before directing such audit, the court must prima facie conclude that the statutory schemes and procedures "are gridlocked in bureaucratic or judicial quagmires that impede or delay statutory objectives. This facilitative role of the judiciary compels audit of the legislation, promotes debate and discussion but does not and cannot compel legislative reforms." Referring to CCPC and CCPA, the bench said, it is necessary to ensure that in the functioning of these bodies, there is efficiency in administration, expertise through composition, integrity through human resources, transparency and accountability and responsiveness through regular review, audits and assessments. "Vibrant functioning of the Council and the Authority will subserve the purpose and object of the Parliament enacting the 2019 legislation," it said.."
