KARACHI, Nov 15: The Sindh High Court on Thursday penalised another frivolous petitioner with costs amounting to Rs50,000 and asked its registrar to initiate action for the recovery of the amount if not deposited with the court nazir within a month.

The amount would be utilised for procurement of books and renovation of the lawyers’ library in the high court, a division bench comprising Justices Munib Ahmed Khan and Abdur Rehman Farooq Pirzada ordered.

The petitioner, Pacific Social Welfare Association, had alleged that a multi-storeyed building was being constructed on plot CS-64, Block 7, Federal B Area, without any sanction. The Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) not only remained a silent spectator but its officials were conniving with the builder.

In its rejoinder, the KBCA stated that no illegality was involved in the construction of the building. The building plan was submitted to it for approval and it duly sanctioned the structure in accordance with the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations,2002, and the Sindh Building Control Ordinance of 1979.

The KBCA counsel, Shahid Jamil Khan, said that the authority had also ensured that the construction conformed to the sanctioned plan. Another non-governmental organisation had earlier challenged the building as unauthorised but the fact was concealed from the court.

The lawyer said that frivolous petitions wasted the precious time not only of the court but also of the authority. They created an unnecessary and entirely avoidable burden on the KBCA’s resources. A large number of petitions against unauthorised constructions were filed by associations and societies without any legal status and such organisations should be made to pay for abusing the judicial process. He pleaded that prohibitive costs should be imposed to discourage frivolous litigation.