KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has dismissed a petition seeking abolishing entrance fee for the visitors to the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Headed by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, the two-judge bench observed that prima facie the respondents had the authority to charge reasonable entrance fee as well as parking fee in accordance with relevant law and decision of the Mazar management board.

It also said the petitioner, being a public servant or an employee of a corporation, must give top priority to his work/duty instead of approaching the SHC by filing frivolous petitions. The bench warned the petitioner to be careful in future by not filing such type of petitions, otherwise, the same would be dismissed with heavy costs.

At the outset of the hearing, a federal law officer informed the bench that the petitioner was an employee of the PTCL and habitual of filing petitions under the garb of public interest litigations.

Bench warns petitioner against filing such frivolous pleas in future

The bench in its order noted that prima facie the petition had been filed without having any knowledge about Section 5 of the Quaid-i-Azam Mazar (Protection and Maintenance) Ordinance, 1971 which authorised the respondents to maintain the Mazar.

“The other provisions of the Ordinance also reflect that since it is the responsibility to maintain the Mazar and also to ensure the law and order situation and regulate the entry of the visitors, therefore, prima facie, respondents have the authority to charge reasonable entry fee as well as the parking fee, however, the same shall be in accordance with the provisions of the aforesaid Ordinance and decision taken by the Quaid-i-Azam’s Mazar Management Board and such income/expenditure is subject to annual audit in the instant case,” it concluded.

Waqef Shah had petitioned the SHC in 2022 against the authorities concerned over imposition of entrance fee on the visitors to the mausoleum and asserted that magnificent parks like Minar-i-Pakistan and mausoleum of the national poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal in Lahore had no entry fee for visitors.

He asserted that Rs30 per visitor entry fee was being charged at the mausoleum of the Quaid-i-Azam under the head of so-called maintenance, but entry tickets neither specifically mentioned the mausoleum’s under maintenance parts/location nor carried name of the vendors.

The petitioner sought directions for the respondents to allow the visitors at the mausoleum without charging any entry fee from them as well as to share complete details/standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding maintenance of the mausoleum.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2024