KARACHI, Nov 6 The Sindh High Court issued on Friday notices to the secretary of the housing and town planning department, the Karachi district coordination officer, the Gulshan-i-Iqbal town nazim and others for Nov 18 in a matter relating to a snack bar located in the Jamaluddin Afghani Park.

Justice Maqbool Baqar also ordered both sides to maintain the status quo in respect of the snack bar established in the Jamaluddin Afghani Park in Union Council No 2, Gulshan Town.

Plaintiffs Arshad Ameen and Adnan Ali Shah filed a suit, stating that they were allowed to establish a snack bar inside the Jamaluddin Afghani Park on the condition that they would bear the expenditure for the development of a proper park.

They said that the park was developed with a huge investment, but now the UC nazim and some other interested persons were trying to dispossess the plaintiffs on different pretexts.

They maintained that they had a written agreement and could not be dispossessed till 2012. They prayed to the court to issue a permanent injunction against dispossession and coercive action by the defendants against them.

The court ordered both sides to maintain the status quo till the next date of hearing and issued notices to the defendants for Nov 18.

KFHA chief put on notice

An SHC division bench comprising Justices Gulzar Ahmed and Irfan Saadat Khan on Friday issued notices to the federal and provincial law officers and the chief of the Karachi Fisheries Harbour Authority over the dispossession of a seafood products packing firm from the premises of the harbour.

The counsel for M/s Samiullah Butt & Company submitted that his client had been doing the business of seafood items packing at West Wharf since 2005. The KFHA allotted it a plot at the harbour, which he developed at a cost of Rs5 million.

Recently, he was granted a 25-year lease of the plot, but the KFHA verbally directed the petitioner to vacate the premises and restrained its workers from entering the harbour premises to supply ice, etc to its clients.

He said that the KFHA committed a breach of agreement and wanted to dispossess the petitioner. He prayed to the court to restrain the respondents from dispossessing him.

The bench issued notices to the respondents for Nov 11, asking them to file their comments.

Treatment of undertrial ordered

The same bench on Friday ordered the authorities to provide immediate treatment to an undertrail suffering from psychological disorders.

Advocate Abdul Qadir Halepota filed an application on behalf of the undertrial, Abdul Qadir, seeking his bail on medical grounds.

He said that the applicant, who is facing trial in a case pertaining to the possession of contraband chemicals, was a psychological patient and remained under treatment for 15 years at the Liaquat National Hospital.

He also suffers from diabetes mellitus and had epileptic fits.

The applicant's counsel stated that no proper treatment facility was available at the jail hospital and prayed to the court to grant him bail on medical grounds.

The bench directed the jail superintendent to take the applicant to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Superintendent for his medical check-up and treatment within two days. A notice was also issued to the special prosecutor representing the Anti-Narcotics Force for a date to be fixed by the office of the court.

Police officer's petition

disposed of

The same bench on Friday disposed of as infructuous a petition filed by SSP Raja Umer Khattab for conferment of a civil award, Tamgha-e-Shujaat.

The petitioner police official submitted that he had investigated several high-profile cases and had busted gangs of notorious criminals and terrorists.

Deputy Attorney General Ashiq Raza submitted on Friday that the petition had become infructuous as the petitioner's name was not recommended for the conferment of the civil award.

He prayed to the court to dismiss the petition.—APP/PPI