RAWALPINDI, Dec 17: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Wednesday directed the secretary defence, station commander Rawalpindi and an administrative officer of Station Headquarters to appear in the court and explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for violating the court orders.
Justice Maulvi Anwarul Haq of the LHC summoned Secretary Defence Ghulam Rasool, Station Commander Brig Sajjad Ahmed and Maj Shaukat Raza after a federal standing counsel told the court that he intimated Maj Raza to respond to a court notice but he did not bother to reply.
The court, while hearing a contempt petition filed by the employees of federal government dislodged from Gracy Lines in Chaklala Cantonment, ruled that the officials should be present in the court in person to explain their inability to follow its orders. The court put off the hearing till the last week of January.
Chaudhry Aftab Gujar, lawyer for 108 petitioners, filed a contempt of court plea, saying that the respondents demolished flats in Gracy Lines area housing 1,350 people, mostly employees of the federal government, though the LHC had restrained them to do so till the final disposal of their petition. The court sought the response of the respondents but they did not reply to the court notice.
The petitioners had maintained that they were living in the flats since the federal capital was shifted to Islamabad and federal ombudsman in 1996 directed the station commander not to displace the residents till alternate arrangements were made for their accommodation.
In May this year, the petitioner moved LHC after they were asked to vacate the flats, and obtained a stay order that was not followed by the respondents and the flats were razed in August.
Meanwhile, Justice Syed Sajjad Hussain of the LHC directed the Punjab government not to harass the nazims of Murree and Potohar Town and not to register any criminal case against them without intimating the court.
Murree Nazim Sardar Mohammad Saleem and Potohar Town Nazim Hamid Nawaz Raja have moved the court through Tanveer Iqbal advocate, making Punjab chief secretary, Rawalpindi commissioner, district coordination officer, CPO, town municipal officers of Potohar and Murree, director general anti-corruption establishment deputy director, its Rawalpindi deputy director and Chief Minister Complaint Cell in Lahore as respondents.