KARACHI, Jan 12: The Sindh High Court allowed the 52 owners of marriage halls in the city on Wednesday to approach the city district government and the Karachi Building Control Authority to seek regularization of conversion of their premises from residential to commercial.

The CDGK and the KBCA were simultaneously asked by Justice Amir Hani Muslim to consider the plaintiffs' plea for change of land use and refrain from taking any adverse action in the meanwhile.

The representative suit was instituted by the marriage halls in 1994 to challenge a circular issued by the KBCA for payment of Rs 1000 per square feet of the plots occupied by them in order to carry on their business.

The court stayed the operation of the notice and restrained the KBCA from acting against the plaintiff concerns, which continued their business activity on unauthorized commercial premises.

Appearing for the KBCA, Advocate Shahid Jamil Khan submitted that the impugned notice was patently outside the purview of the Sindh Building Control Ordinance, 1979. The KBCA could not possibly have issued it. In fact, under the law, the authority would go for demolition or regularization in accordance with the existing rules and procedure.

The impugned notice, the counsel said, had accordingly been withdrawn. The notice having been withdrawn, the court declared the suit infurctuous and vacated the stay.

It, however, observed that the plaintiffs would be at liberty to approach the CDGK and the KBCA for regularization and the defendant authorities would duly consider their applications before proceeding in accordance with the law.