KARACHI: A district and sessions court has given last chance to the state prosecutor to argue about the fate of a case registered by the police pertaining to illegal construction of Nasla Tower on encroached land after the Anti-Corruption Establishment lodged an identical case.

The 15-storey commercial-cum-residential building has been razed to the ground on the directives of the Supreme Court, which found it to have been built in violation of the laws.

Initially, the Ferozabad police had booked Nasla Towner’s land owner Abdul Qadir, Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) former director general along with 15 officers as well as chairman, secretary and office bearers of the Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society for illegally constructing Nasla Tower by occupying 341sq yards of a service lane.

Anti-Corruption Establishment has already registered an identical case over illegally-constructed high-rise

On Monday, District and Sessions Judge (East) Khalid Hussain Shahani took up the matter for confirmation of interim bail granted to the multi-storey plaza’s builder and some officials.

At the outset, a deputy district public prosecutor informed that no final investigation report had yet been filed by the investigating officer of the case.

The judge recalled that a judicial magistrate on Jan 22 had refused to grant physical custody of detained suspect Waseem Sheikh since he had been booked for committing scheduled offences punishable under the provisions of the West Pakistan Anti-Corruption Ordinance (XX of 1961).

The judge added that the IO was also told to produce the suspect before competent court, i.e. provincial anti-corruption court having jurisdiction.

Judge Shahani noted that the prosecution had not challenged such order passed by the magistrate at the competent forum. Therefore, he put on notice the deputy district public prosecutor to advance arguments as to what would be the fate of the present case lodged under the provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code by the police.

The prosecutor requested for time to enable him to argue on the matter so that the same could be disposed of on the next date.

The judge ordered that on request of the prosecutor, the last chance is given to argue on the fate of the present case and adjourned the hearing till March 10.

The judge cautioned that in case the prosecutor failed to satisfy the court on the fate of the present case, especially in circumstances where an identical case had been lodged at the ACE, the court would have no other option except to dispose of the pre-arrest bail application on the question of want of jurisdiction.

Till the next date, the judge extended the interim bail of the Nasla Tower’s building owner and other suspects.

The Ferozabad police had lodged a case under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (cheating and dishonestly Inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Later, the Anti-Corruption Establishment lodged an identical case under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act-II, 1947.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2022