KARACHI, March 28: The Sindh High Court ordered a probe on Monday into allotment and sale of 30 acres in Gulistan-i-Jauhar (Scheme-36) by the alleged allottees to a developer.

M/s Johnswaki International instituted a suit in 2002 for specific performance of agreements to sell reached by them with 59 allottees given plots at Mir Khan Gabol Goth, which was incorporated into Block 6 of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Scheme No 36. The total area came to about 21 acres.

The firm claimed that it entered the deal with the allottees’attorney, Syed Ghazanfar Ali Shah, and had already paid Rs21.5 million in several instalments towards the sale consideration when it came to know that an adverse claim had been set up in respect of some of the plots by another person and that the vendors and their attorney had approached the committee concerned for regularization of the allotments without informing him of their cancellation under the Sindh Urban State Land (Cancellation of Allotment, Conversion and Exchanges) Ordinance, 2000.

The firm said it purchased the land free of all encumbrances to develop and raise a housing-cum-commercial complex. The defendants approached the regularization committee behind its back to resell the land at higher prices. A price differential of over Rs 290 million was worked out without any intimation to them. The plaintiff requested a declaration in its favour and a permanent injunction against any resale of the property. It said the ordinance had no bearing on its vested right. It sought an order to the defendants to complete the transfer of the land or, in the alternative, pay Rs100 million as damages besides refunding Rs21.5 million received by them as sale consideration till 2002.

The provincial government’s land utilization department contested the suit as not maintainable. It said the allotment letters were fake and orders were manipulated. The goth was non-existent. Land under the Gothabad scheme was allotted to the dwellers, if they owned no residential plot elsewhere, free of charge. They were not permitted to resell it immediately for profit. The allottees or their attorney had no title in the property and could pass none to the plaintiff firm.

The firm, the department said, should have ascertained the ownership of the land before signing agreements to buy it. The maximum size of the plot allotted under the Gothabad scheme could not exceed 240 square yards. The litigation was collusive and was aimed at securing the court’s approval for the unauthorized deal. The agreements were void and unenforceable, the department added.

The suit came up for hearing before Justice Mushir Alam on Monday and the plaintiff firm submitted that it would prefer an out-of-court settlement with the defendants to curtail litigation provided the compromise was also signed by the provincial government.

Additional Advocate-General Abbas Ali opposed the plea, saying the government could not be a party to the fraudulent deal. The size of the individual plots exceeded 2400 square yards each and the vendors could not be allotted such big plots under the Gothabad scheme. This circumstance alone was sufficient for dismissal of the suit.

Justice Alam ordered the revenue authorities to hold an inquiry into the matter and submit a report within 15 days, after which the case would be taken up again.

Bail granted: The Sindh High Court on Monday granted bail plea of a man in a kidnapping and killing case and ordered his release for a surety of Rs 300,000, adds PPI

Sher Bahadur is accused of kidnapping and killing a boy, Yousuf, on Jan 30, 1998 in Mominabad. His defence counsel took the plea that the applicant was juvenile at the time of his arrest seven years back.

SHC’s single bench, comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, after hearing the counsel ordered his release on bail.