HYDERABAD, Oct 9: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, on Thursday ordered the Hyderabad Muncipal Corporation to shift encroachers from a road running along the Pucca Qilla and rehabilitate them at some other parts of the city as it could not sell the encroached portions to them.

A division bench, comprising Justice Mohammad Roshan Essani and Justice Ameer Hani Muslim, issued the order on a constitutional petition filed in 1992 by Mohammad Usman Rathore. Mr Rathore died while the petition was pending.

Being the president of the Pakha Peer Colony Welfare Society, Mr Rathore and 16 others had filed the petition against the mayor of the HMC after he did not implement the Appellate Tribunal Local Council’s order passed on Oct 1, 1985.

The petitioner made representations about the removal of encroachments on Qadam Shah Chari, Nusrat Bazaar, along the Pucca Qilla wall.

He said in the petition that instead of removing the encroachments, the respondent HMC had decided to sell out portions of the road to encroachers and the road width was reduced from 65 feet to 30 feet. He had filed objections which were rejected by the HMC.

On Oct 23, 1982, the HMC had passed a resolution and received part of the payment for the road portion.

Mr Rathore filed an appeal in 1985 before the ATLC against the rejection of his objections by the HMC.

The ATLC allowed his appeal, holding therein that the proposed sale of portion of the road was void.

The HMC had not implemented the court order and called a meeting to discuss the order.

The then HMC mayor had admitted before the SHC that the order was not implemented for it was without jurisdiction.

Mr Rathore filed another petition before the SHC, seeking implementation of the ATLC’s order. The HMC also filed a separate petition.

Both the petitions were heard together and the HMC’s petition was dismissed.

When the HMC’s counsel argued that the petitioner could not file petitions before the ATLC or the SHC, the SHC observed that anyone could challenge deprivation of civic amenities.

The court said streets and roads could not be disposed of by the HMC as these were meant to provide civic amenities to the people.