KARACHI: SHC tells city govt to help KBCA
KARACHI, Dec 15: The Sindh High Court asked the city district government on Thursday to resolve the problems faced by the Karachi Building Control Authority due to non-availability of demolition equipment and police assistance.
KBCA counsel Shahid Jamil Khan informed a division bench, comprising Justices Mushir Alam and Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, that its repeated requests for permission to import sophisticated demolition machinery was turned down by the former city nazim. As for police assistance, it is seldom available when the KBCA demolition squad needs it for demolition or eviction of illegal occupants of unauthorized structures.
These handicaps, the counsel said, prevent the authority from discharging its statutory duties properly, particularly in pursuance of court orders. The KBCA officials are indiscriminately accused of corruption and threatened with legal action without realizing their difficulties and problems.
The bench asked the city district government to submit a report on measures taken to facilitate the KBCA in performing its functions. The hearing was adjourned until after the winter recess.
CO-OP SOCIETY: The bench issued notices to the registrar of cooperative housing societies, the Saify Cooperative Housing Society, the KBCA and the city district government in an application moved by a plot owner.
Advocate Sohail Hameed argued on behalf of the applicant that the housing society obtained a court behind the back of the plot owner and misrepresentation.
The applicant had fulfilled all the requirements for raising a commercial building on plot D-12, Block 5, Saify Housing Society, North Nazimabad, but he was being harassed by society officials.
The lawyer maintained that the society was out to usurp the powers of the city district government under the Sindh Local Government Ordinance and in respect of the conversion of plots and those of the KBCA in respect of approval of building plans.
The bench issued the respondents notices for Dec 23.
Conviction set aside: An Anti-Terrorism Appellate (ATA) bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC), comprising Justice Muhammad Afzal Soomro and Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi, on Thursday allowing two appeals set aside conviction in an alleged kidnapping for ransom case.
Niaz Hussain Chang, Hazooro and Ghulam Qadir assailed their conviction and sentence by ATC-III which tried them on charge of kidnapping Imdad Ali, a grass dealer, keeping him under confinement for more than three months and demanding a ransom of Rs 800,000.
No ransom was alleged to be paid and the accused who abducted the complainant/victim on Jan 9, 2002, released him on April 23, 2002, at 9pm.
The bench after hearing A Q Halepota, counsel for accused and state counsel, allowed the appeals setting aside the impugned judgment, add agencies.
Notice issued: The Sindh High Court on Thursday issued notice to the state on a review application of a woman seeking reduction in her sentence in a drug case.
Victoria Okenwa, an HIV patient, filed a review application after disposal of her appeal by the court. She was convicted and sentenced to five years by the trial court for having found guilty of smuggling 850 grams of heroin powder.
SHC’s division bench, comprising Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, after preliminary hearing of the application, issued notice to state.