ISLAMABAD: The owner of a private housing society on Thursday challenged the notification for appointment of special magistrate of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), claiming that it was issued without any legal backing.

Chaudhry Mohammad Usman, chief executive of the Ghauri Town housing society, through advocates Kashif Ali Malik and Qazi Abdul Aziz challenged the appointment of Sardar Mohammad Asif as senior special magistrate.

It may be mentioned that last month Mr Asif sentenced Usman to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs1.5 billion on him for chopping trees in sector 8 of the society.

The petition stated that the notification regarding conferment of powers upon the senior special magistrate, CDA was not issued in accordance with relevant clauses of the law.

It added that a magistrate exercises judicial powers in respect of particular cases or to a particular class or particular classes of cases, or in regard to cases generally in any local area.

Such conferment could only be made by the provincial government on the recommendations of the high court, it stated, adding the notification provides for conferment of powers upon the officer under section 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 for which the approval of the high court was a pre-requisite.

The petition further stated that the chief commissioner was not vested with powers of the provincial government under the Constitution and respective laws on the subject, adding, only the federal government could make such an appointment and that too as prescribed in the Supreme Court judgment passed in the Mustafa Impex case.

It may be mentioned here that the apex court in the said judgment defined the federal government and declared that even the prime minister cannot take a decision unless he was empowered by the federal cabinet.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2021