KARACHI, Oct 17: The Sindh High Court asked a petitioner society on Friday to pay Rs 10,000 each to the Karachi Building Control Authority and an owner/builder if it wanted to amend its misleading petition against them.

The Karachi Watch and Care Society had moved a writ petition against the builder for unlawfully commercializing a residential plot (No 84, Main Mauripur Road, Khadda) and raising a four-storeyed structure, covering the mandatory open space after obtaining KBCA approval for a two-floor building. The KBCA was impleaded as a respondent for acquiescing in the violation.

A division bench, comprising Justices Sabihuddin Ahmed and S. Ali Aslam Jafri, issued notices to all the respondents, who engaged lawyers to enter appearance. No amendment in the course of proceedings was sought by the petitioner society or its counsel. The bench appointed the court nazir to inspect the site and the KBCA submitted its comments through Advocate Shahid Jamil Khan.

The KBCA and the nazir informed the bench that the plot had construction only up to the plinth level and that too covering only half its area. The authority stated that no action was called for and none was taken. The owner-builder also denied the allegation.

The petitioner society belatedly came out with an explanation that the number of plot was mistakenly mentioned as 84 instead of 86 due to “a typographical error”. It sought to amend the petition to correct the number of the plot. The respondents sought dismissal of the petition as “the so-called inadvertent error” was repeatedly made in all the documents annexed to the petition.

The petitioner did not rectify the mistake even when the court ordered inspection of the site and the plot was actually inspected by the Nazir in the presence of the respondents’ representatives.

The bench observed that in the circumstances of the case, an amendment could be allowed only on payment of costs. The petitioner was asked to deposit Rs 20,000 with the nazir for payment of Rs 10,000 each to the respondents if it wanted to maintain an amended petition.

Meanwhile, the bench ordered issuance of notices in a petition moved by a resident of Lyariagainst installation of a petrol pump. Abdus Sattar has impleaded the local government secretary, the CDGK, the KBCA and the oil company as respondents in his petition filed through Advocate Abid Hussain.