KARACHI, Sept 29: The Sindh High Court gave the advocate- general two weeks to bring about a settlement between the city district government and the Karachi Building Control Authority over the latter's legal status.
The order was made by a division bench, comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Maqbool Baqar, on a writ petition moved by the KBCA for amendments to Sindh Building Control Ordinance, 1979, in order to empower it to discharge its legal obligations.
The authority submitted that the amendments were all the more necessary in view of non-cooperation of the CDGK, the police and other agencies and utilities in action against violative structures. It received no assistance even when it moved against the builders to comply with court orders.
Appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Shahid Jamil Khan said the matter had acquired greater urgency in view of the CDGK insistence that the KBCA had merged into it. He argued that the position taken by the CDGK was repugnant to the successive SHC judgments.
AG Anwar Mansoor Khan, who appeared on Wednesday in response to a court notice, submitted that he wanted to attempt a reconciliation before addressing the legal aspects of the issue.
The bench allowed him two weeks to bring about a settlement and adjourned further hearing till Oct 14. Another KBCA petition agitating the CDGK move to withhold its permission for import of demolition equipment was also adjourned to Oct 14 by the same bench.
CDGK counsel Manzoor Ahmed submitted a statement on behalf of the district coordination officer reiterating the CDGK standpoint that the KBCA had ceased to exist following its merger into the city government as its 16th group. It could now function only as the CDGK's 16th Group of Building Control Offices.
DCO Mir Hussain Ali said in his statement that instead of functioning as a group of CDGK, the KBCA was acting independently of the city government. He relied on a provincial government notification issued earlier in April in support of his statement.
Advocate Manzoor Ahmed argued that the machinery import could not be allowed to the KBCA as an independent organization. The CDGK had first to take a decision on the matter and make a budgetary allocation.
Advocate Shahid Jamil Khan said the April notification had no validity in view of the SHC judgments declaring the KBCA to be an entity independent of the city government.
Only the city nazim was declared as 'authority' for the purposes of Section 4 of the SBCO, he maintained. The bench adjourned further hearing to Oct 14 for detailed arguments.
PLEAS DISMISSED: A Sindh High Court division bench dismissed on Wednesday three identical appeals by the Pakistan Railways against a single judge's decision to award compensation to the legal heirs of the victims of accidents at manned level crossings.
The bench, comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Maqbool Baqar, however, reserved its order on cross-appeals moved by the heirs for enhancement of the compensation through Advocate Nasir Maqsood.
Three suits were instituted by the heirs of Syed Mohiuddin, Sajjad Ahmed and Mohammad Aslam, who lost their lives due to the railways negligence, under the Fatal Accidents Act. Decrees for Rs 2,150,000, Rs 2,000,000 and Rs 2,106,000 were passed by Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, who held the defendant guilty of negligence in leaving the level crossings open to public.
The defendant challenged the judgments and decrees while the plaintiffs sought enhancement of the compensation. By a short order and for detailed reasons to be recorded later, the appellate bench dismissed the appeals against the decrees and reserved its order on the heirs' appeals.
HEARING PUT OFF: A division bench of High Court of Sindh, comprising Chief Justice Saiyed Saeed Ashhad and Justice Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery, on Wednesday adjourned hearing of a constitutional petition filed by over 100 newly selected lecturers till Oct 13, adds APP.
When the petition filed by Hakim Ali Buriro and 129 others, including some blind persons, came up for hearing, AAG Sindh sought time to file a rejoinder after which the hearing was put off.
The petitioners maintained that they were selected after fulfilling all legal requirements. "We have accepted the offer letters and were waiting for posting when the entire process was annulled to recruit persons of their own choice by new government", petitioners said. When the matter came up for hearing, the AAG sought time on which the bench deferred further hearing till Oct 13.