KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by residents of Korangi Quarters seeking a restraining order against the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to not evict them from their houses.

The petitioners submitted that they had been living in the locality for the past 45 years and challans of allotment were issued to them by the KMC’s Katchi Abadis department in 1997.

They pleaded that the court may restrain the KMC from evicting them from their houses.

On the last hearing, the bench issued notices to the Katchi Abadis director, the metropolitan commissioner and others directing them to file their comments with regard to the status of the Korangi Quarters land.

When the petition came up for hearing before a two-judge bench comprising Justices Gulzar Ahmed and Sajjad Ali Shah on Monday, the respondents submitted their comments and documents.

The apex court rules the land in question belongs to the KMC

The petitioners submitted that the houses in question were sold to them by the then director of Katchi Abadis and they had been living there for over four decades.

The lawyer for the KMC said as per the record that land in question belonged to the civic body.

Dismissing the petition, Justice Ahmed observed that if the petitioners had been residing there for the past century, even then the status of the land would remain unchanged and they would be treated as illegal occupants.

The apex court deplored the illegal allotment and said that such practice had been in vogue almost in the entire city.

Justice Shah said it had come on record through documents that the land in question belonged to the KMC.

Police told to protect new covert

The Sindh High Court on Monday directed the police and other respondents to file their respective comments on a petition of a woman, a new convert to Islam, seeking protection.

Petitioner Ayesha submitted that she along with her 10-year-old daughter embraced Islam and contracted marriage with Sartaj on her free will.

She said that her former husband, Heerlal, and his family became enraged and gave them death threats for converting from Hinduism to Islam and contracting marriage.

Impleading the police, home department, her former husband and others as respondents, the petitioner pleaded for protection.

A single-judge bench of SHC headed by Justice Amjad Ali Sahito issued notices to the respondents with direction to file comments till Aug 20 and also asked the police to provide protection to the petitioner and her underage daughter.

Remand extended in anchorperson’s murder case

A judicial magistrate on Monday extended the physical remand of suspect Atif Zaman for a day in a case pertaining to the murder of television anchorperson Mureed Abbas allegedly over a financial dispute.

The investigating officer submitted that the suspect, who is currently under treatment at a private hospital, was willing to record his confessional statement before the court.

The IO moved an application before the magistrate asking to record his confessional statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code and also requested to grant extension in his physical remand.

However, the defence lawyer raised objection on the application.

The magistrate granted one-day extension in the remand and ordered the production of the suspect in court on Tuesday (today).

Zaman has been booked for allegedly killing his business partners Abbas and Khizar Hayat in the Khayaban-i-Bukhari area of Defe­nce Housing Authority on July 9.

Police said the suspect was arrested in an injured condition after the incident as he made a bungled attempt to commit suicide to avoid his arrest.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2019