ISLAMABAD: The registrar of Islamabad High Court (IHC) has submitted his reply to the Supreme Court in response to a show-cause notice issued to him for an alleged contempt of court.

In the reply, Sajid Baloch informed the apex court about compliance with the directions issued to him in connection with the demolition of illegal structures at the district courts in F-8 Markaz, Islamabad.

Mr Baloch apprised the apex court that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had demolished the illegal structures erected as extensions of courts and also got vacated courts established in private buildings before launching an anti-encroachment drive.

He stated that he supervised the anti-encroachment operation along with officials of the district administration and judicial officers.

The apex court earlier this month had issued a contempt of court notice to the IHC registrar for his ‘casual’ attitude to comply with the direction for removing the structures of the courts illegally built on a private land in F-8 Markaz.

The contempt of court notice was issued by a two-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed while hearing a petition filed by Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) President Zahid Mehmood Raja, seeking a review to the apex court’s direction to the CDA for the removal of illegal chambers from a football ground at F-8.

The CJP remarked that the IHC registrar did not take the direction of demolishing the illegal structures of the courts seriously and left the matter to junior officers.

Justice Gulzar observed that the IHC registrar had failed to timely implement the apex court’s direction and his conduct was tantamount to committing contempt of court.

On April 11, the registrar had submitted a compliance report to the SC which was termed unsatisfactory by the chief justice of Pakistan.

In the report, the registrar had explained that besides the football ground, encroachments and illegal construction were made on green areas, roads, streets, public car parking and commercial plots in the F-8 Markaz, adding all such illegal constructions and encroachments had been declared by the local administration as a security threat, particularly after the terrorist attack of March 3, 2014.

The registrar said illegal construction and encroachments were facilitated by civil courts through their injunctive orders which were subsequently withdrawn by the IHC.

He added that soon after the apex court’s direction, the registrar directed sessions courts and the CDA to identify the courts constructed illegally on greenbelts and private land and remove them.The apex court on March 2 while hearing an appeal against the IHC decision for removal of the lawyers’ chambers from the football ground had noted that some courts had illegally been established on private land.

The apex court had then directed the IHC registrar “to ensure that such land is vacated, court structure removed and the courts are shifted to proper regular premises.”

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2021