KARACHI, May 9: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday had the offices of Supreme Court Bar Association president Munir A. Malik opened and took the Karachi Building Control Authority to task for sealing the building on a plea that it had been built in a residential area.

A division bench of the SHC comprising Justices Amir Hani Muslim and Yasmeen Abbasi declared the KBCA action illegal.

The High Court decision came in response to a petition filed by Mr Malik, who is a lawyer for the chief justice in the Supreme Judicial Council.

The bench issued a notice to the KBCA, the Karachi nazim and others for Thursday and called an explanation from the KBCA’s deputy controller.

Mr Malik’s counsel Rasheed A. Rizvi submitted before the court that the KBCA’s sealing notice was unconstitutional and had no legal effect. He described the government action as an attempt to sabotage the lawyers’ rally scheduled for May 12.