KARACHI: Plea against supersession of housing society rejected
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 2: In a common judgment the Sindh High Court dismissed in-limine two identical constitutional petitions filed by the Ex-Servicemen’s Cooperative Housing Society.
The division bench comprised Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Mushir Alam.
The Ex-Servicemen’s Cooperative Housing Society was superseded by the government through a notification dated Dec 23, 2000. In one of the petitions the Society had sought declaration from the court that the raid at its office and seizure of record by the Special Army Monitoring Team was illegal and the record should be returned.
In the other petition the government’s notification of suppression of the Society was challenged. Counsel for the society, Syed Ansar Hussain, argued that the suppression order was absolutely mala fide, with ulterior motive and illegal.
He submitted that previously too the society had been superseded and later it was restored by the Supreme Court. He said that no grounds or reasons warranted suppression of the society.
The AAG Sindh, Sarwar Khan, opposed the petitions and submitted that office-bearers of the Society were guilty of having committed illegal acts of commission and omission causing financial losses to the Society. There were complaints by the members of the Society and even an FIR had been lodged against the office-bearers.
The Special Army Monitoring Team had raided the office of the society and seized the record of the society for investigation when it was found that some of the record had already been removed from the office.
He also argued that in view of Section 6 (2-A) of the Sindh Cooperative Housing Authority Ordinance 1982 the competent authority had the power to supersede the society without any show-cause notice in cases of emergency/urgency.
Supporting the arguments of the government, K. M. Nadeem, counsel for the private respondents/members of the Society, submitted that the order of suppression of the Society and direction for taking over the charge and control of its affairs and assets was valid and proper. He submitted that the said management of the Society had committed grave and serious illegalities, bungling and embezzlement of funds and that the management/running of the society was in such a bad shape that it required immediate and urgent action to stop the illegalities and unlawful activities.
He referred to the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the members, wherein instances of unlawful activities of the office- bearers had been mentioned. The illegal acts, he contended, included fabrication of forged challan for obtaining water connection, malpractice in making multiple allotments of same plots, conversion of amenity plot of 3000 square yards into a Khanqah, etc.
He also challenged the locus standi of the office-bearers to file petitions in the name of the Society when it stood superseded.
The court observed that the initial impression that the petitioners had acted in accordance with law and were performing duties for the benefit of the members but for the mala fide intention and ulterior motive of the officials as well as private respondents, as depicted in their petitions, was completely erased on the perusal of the comments filed on behalf of the government and the counter affidavit on behalf of the private respondents.
The petitioners were found to be involved in illegal and unlawful acts of commission or omission, acting with ulterior motive to obtain personal gains at the expense of the right person and that they made untrue statements for obtaining a favourable order from the court.
Concluding that the petitions are misconceived, not maintainable and without any merits, the court dismissed both the petitions in-limine.
