KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has dismissed a petition challenging the construction of a 14-storey building in Bath Island, Clifton and ruled that the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the Master Plan Department can commercialise or amalgamate plots in accordance with the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations (KBTPR) 2002.

A two-judge constitutional bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha, rejected the petition filed by several residents of the Gulshan-i-Faisal Cooperative Housing Society, Bath Island, against the construction of the multistorey commercial/residential building and the conversion and amalgamation of its plot.

The bench ruled that land use planning primarily ensures the responsible use of land and that land use conversion involves changing the designated use of land, such as from residential to commercial.

“This requires permission from the relevant authority to ensure compliance with regulations set forth by the KMC, SBCA, and the Sindh Master Plan, as well as to protect the environment”, the bench added.

Constitutional bench rules SBCA, KMC can commercialise, amalgamate plots in accordance with KBTPR 2002

The petitioners had approached the SHC in 2017, and the housing society itself sided with the petitioners, confirming that the land was designated residential, even though the original lease from 1976 classified the area as commercial and limited its construction to ground plus two floors.

They argued that the land was originally commercial, but its use was legally converted to residential in 1984, and that this status had been maintained for decades. They further claimed the developer had acquired additional land, increased the plot size and proposed a new plan for a 14-storey building.

However, the counsel for the developer contended that the project was entirely legal and within the bounds of the law, with all necessary approvals and no-objection certificates (NOCs) obtained from the SBCA and KMC for construction on the amalgamated 871-square-yard plot.

In its order, the bench noted that the core question was whether the petition was maintainable under Article 199 of the Constitution, which allows a high court’s intervention only when all other legal remedies have been exhausted or no alternative legal remedies exist.

It further stated that there were conflicting claims among the parties. The KMC maintained that the property remained officially classified as commercial and that NOCs were issued in accordance with the rules—a position supported by the SBCA and a 2020 letter from the Sindh Master Plan Authority.

“Prima facie, the KMC, SBCA and Sindh Master Plan Authorities have the power to decide if the plots can be used for commercial purposes and amalgamated. This would be based on rules from the KBTPR 2002, including things like zoning and environmental impact assessments”, the bench noted.

However, it observed that the parties were engaged in a heated dispute, with conflicting claims regarding the building plan, plot subdivisions and amalgamation. Both sides relied heavily on documents to support their arguments. It also appeared that the SBCA, KMC and Sindh Master Plan Authorities were not siding with the petitioners.

As such, the court held that it was difficult to determine the correct position without a full review of all the evidence. The SHC’s constitutional jurisdiction, it maintained, is not ordinarily meant to adjudicate disputed questions of fact, especially when such issues cannot be resolved solely through admitted documents.

It further observed that the SHC could not determine factual disputes concerning the residential status of the subject plot or the legality of its amalgamation, as these were matters of contested facts. Therefore, the court dismissed the petition and all accompanying applications for being non-maintainable.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2025