ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court explored on Tuesday means to help find a solution without having to pull down a Karachi apartment building raised in violation of building rules. The apartment block is currently housing around 200 families.

A two-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal, had taken up appeals and suspended the Sept 29 Sindh High Court (SHC) order to demolish Moon Garden apartments, situated behind Aladdin Park in Gulshan-i-Iqbal. The court ordered the builder, Abdul Razzak Khamosh, to submit a security of Rs100 million — half of which would be deposited at the apex court in a fortnight and the other half in bank guarantees.

The builder was arrested by the Sindh police with assistance from Islamabad police from outside the Supreme Court soon after the appeal was heard. He was restrained by the court from selling apartments in the building to any other buyer while the case was pending in court.

The bench framed three questions to be explored during subsequent proceedings to find a middle-ground, asking whether demolition of the building raised in derogation of the earlier orders passed by the apex court and the SHC would be an adequate measure or punishment in any other form would also meet the ends of justice.

Secondly, the court asked, whether one of the petitioners who was the builder and others - the residents of the apartments, had locus standi (the legal right) to move the apex court. Thirdly, the court said that anything short of demolition of the building could retrieve the dignity of the Supreme Court, since the builder had breached the Oct 7, 2008 assurance which required him to not construct more than what had been allowed earlier; besides he would not hand over possession of the building to any buyer without having obtained a no objection certificate from the department concerned.

The SC had also reserved some flak for the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) which was represented by advocate Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta.

“This is the tragedy that the authority was hand in glove and did not act actively when the violation was being committed,” said Justice Afzal, adding that the KBCA saw the contravention of the rules but remained acquiescent.

The court was surprised that the builder, who is also the petitioner and is represented by counsel Salman Akram Raja, could speak before the court on behalf of the 200 occupants when he had violated the rules. Accepting that violations were committed by his client, Salman Raja threw himself at the mercy of the court seeking benevolence, adding that he was willing to stand trial both in financial terms or in the shape of incarceration, but pleaded that the building should not be demolished.

The counsel, however, emphasised that the builder had not violated the city’s master plan since the building was in compliance with the applicable building by-laws and, therefore, should not be razed to the ground on account of construction beyond the approved building plan. These violations, he argued, could be regularised.

Advocate Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry, who appeared on behalf of the Pakistan Railways Employees Cooperatives Housing Society, pleaded that the builder had encroached upon its lands. Besides the occupants were not there but suddenly surfaced in 2014. He added that it showed that the occupants were not real and were placed by the builder to strengthen his case.

He argued that some occupants had submitted apartment documents issued to them even when the building plan was not approved.

Mr Bhutta, meanwhile, argued that the builder had developed nine floors, in addition to a mezzanine floor, without seeking prior approval or providing extra parking for extra floors and constructed 61 additional flats along with the 128 approved ones.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2015