KARACHI: Proceedings against KBCA officials stayed
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 30: The Supreme Court stayed on Wednesday contempt proceedings initiated by the Sindh High Court against the chief controller of buildings and 14 other senior officers of the Karachi Building Control Authority.
An SHC division bench had ordered the demolition of Sumaiya Terrace in Maqboolabad Co-operative Housing Society at the society’s behest. The KBCA had partially demolished the structure when a regularization ordinance was promulgated in 2002. The ordinance, valid for one year, extended one-time amnesty to builders and developers against certain building rules violations on payment of heavy fines.
The KBCA constituted an experts’ committee consisting of engineers and architects to examine regularization cases and make suitable recommendations under the law. As recommended by the committee, the authority regularized the violative complex in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance.
The petitioner society approached the high court for the prosecution of the chief controller of buildings and other senior officers of the KBCA for contempt of court. It said the authority should have demolished the building completely as ordered by the high court. Instead of complying with the court order, it proceeded to regularize the structure under the new law. A division bench comprising Justices M. Mujibullah Siddiqui and Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery admitted the contempt petition to regular hearing by a special bench and asked the advocate-general to conduct the case against the alleged contemners. Advocate Raja Qureshi filed a petition for leave to appeal against the SHC bench’s order on the KBCA’s behalf. He argued that courts administered justice in accordance with the law. A division bench had passed the demolition order under the prevailing law. The law was amended by the ordinance of 2002 inasmuch as it provided for one-time regularization of violative structures. The KBCA had to act in conformity with the new law, which was upheld by a division bench of the Sindh High Court. It could not be accused of non-compliance with the court order under the changed circumstances, the lawyer argued.
An SC bench comprising Justices M. Javed Buttar and Saiyed Saeed Ashhad allowed the KBCA leave to appeal, stayed the operation of the impugned order and asked the court office to fix a date for regular hearing at Islamabad.
KESC case: The Sindh High Court adjourned the hearing of a petition against the privatization of the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation to Dec 14 and asked the respondents to file their affidavits in the meanwhile.
As the petition, which has been filed by the KESC Labour Union through Advocate Rashid A. Razvi, Advocate Abdul Hafeez Pirzada filed his power of attorney on behalf of the privatization commission. He sought copies of the petition and the application for interim relief.
Advocate Faez Isa Qazi is to represent the new buyers of the company. The division bench seized of the petition, which consists of Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Yasmin Abbasey, asked the petitioner to supply copies to both the lawyers.
The petitioner union alleges that the KESC was being sold by private negotiation rather than by public auction. The highest bidder, M/s Kanooz Al Watan, has backed out after paying earnest money amounting to $100 million. M/s Al Jomiah, also of Saudi Arabia, are not the highest bidder but were being transferred the company through negotiations. The council of common interests has not been consulted and the commission was entering the deal without a legal framework.
