KAR ACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday sought replies from the home secretary and the prosecutor general on a petition of Salman Abro, the prime accused in the Suleman Lashari murder case, seeking transfer of his trial from the anti-terrorism court to a district and sessions court.

Accused Abro, the son of the Sakrand Police Training Centre SSP, along with five police guards of his father has been charged with killing his classmate and wounding his private guard at his house in Defence Housing Authority on May 8.

He approached the court through his counsel, Advocate Farooq H. Naek, against an order of the anti-terrorism court that had dismissed his application for transfer of trial to a sessions court.

The counsel said the petitioner had filed an application under Section 7 of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000 before Anti-Terrorism Court No HI, Karachi for declaring him a child/juvenile.

The ATC, he said, on June 19 ordered that ossification test of the petitioner be made through medical superintendent of the Services Hospital, Karachi with directions to constitute a medical board to conduct the ossification test of the petitioner and to submit a report to the court on June 30, 2014.

Advocate Naek submitted that the Services Hospital medical superintendent and the Civil Surgeon Karachi submitted the consolidated/complete proceedings of the special medical boardin thisregard tothe trialcourt.

The report, he said, that the age of the petitioner was between 17 and 18 years.

The counsel said that the trial court on June 30 declared the petitioner to be minor/ juvenile and his case was directed to be separated/bifurcated from the other adult accused and accordingly remanded the petitioner to the Juvenile Prison Karachi.

He said that on June 26, accused Abro filed an an application under Section 23 of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 praying for transfer of his case to a sessions court as it did not have the jurisdiction as contemplated under Section 6, 7 & 8 of the AntiTerrorism Act,1997.

On Sept 2, however, the ATC dismissed the transfer application on the ground that the instant crime had nexus with Section 6(J) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

Advocate Naek contended that pursuant to Section 4 of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000 the home secretary in consultation with the SHC established the District and Sessions Judge Karachi (South) as a Juvenile Court for the trial of the offences allegedly committed by a child / juvenile and which jurisdiction under the law is exclusive.

Thus, he said, the ATC could not entertain, hear or adjudicate upon the case against the petitioner who was a juvenile as it had not been declared a juvenile court under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000.

The counsel argued that the trial of the petitioner, along with the adult co-accused, was in violation of Section 5 of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance.

He asked the court to set aside the impugned order of the ATC passed on the transfer application of his client. He also requested the court to transfer the case of accused Abro from the ATC to a sessions court.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh, issued notices to the home secretary and prosecutor general to file comments on the petition.