KARACHI: Suit against Cancellation of lease disposed of
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 7: Sindh High Court on Monday disposed of a suit against the cancellation of a lease of land in terms of the provisions of Regularization and Cancellation of Land Ordinance-2001.
The suit was instituted by Hasan Ali against KDA’s acquisition of 64.12 acres of land in 2001. The plaintiff stated that the land, in Deh Tappo, Ibrahim Hyderi, Karachi East, was leased out to him in 1993 which was duly registered with the provincial Revenue Department, but the KDA acquired it for some development scheme in disregard of his rights as a lessee. The lease, he contended, was cancelled by the Sindh government in 2001 under the said ordinance.
The plaintiff stated that he had grown about 200 date palm trees and other vegetation besides raising a small structure on the said land.
He had cited City Nazim, concerned Town Committee Sindh Board of Revenue and Revenue Department as respondents.
Appearing for the Board and the department, Additional Advocate General Qazi Khalid Ali submitted that the plaintiff had an efficacious alternative remedy, without exhausting which he should not have approached the high court. He said a committee for settlement of disputes had been constituted under the provisions of the very ordinance which authorized the revocation of land leases. The committee is headed by a former SHC judge, Justice Abdur Rehman Shah.
Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi, who had restrained the city and provincial governments from dispossessing the lessee, disposed of the suit in terms of the AAG’s statement. He, however, ordered that his stay order against dispossession would remain effective till the dispute was finally resolved by the committee.
The plaintiff was given eight days to approach the committee. Contempt and other miscellaneous applications moved by the plaintiff were also disposed of.
CASE AGAINST SI: The Sindh High Court ordered a city police station to entertain a complaint by a widow, who was married to a police sub-inspector, but was soon divorced and dispossessed of her house by the SI.
The widow alleged that SI Masoom Shah of the Pirabad police married her and asked her to purchase a house with the money bequeathed to her by her late husband. She acted on his advice, but after the purchase of a house in his name, he divorced her and evicted her from the house and rendered her shelterless. Her complaint against Mr Shah was not entertained by the police.
Justice Ataur Rahman ordered the SHO concerned to register an FIR against the SI within five days.
