Court: Nazir to verify whether road encroached or not

Respondent claims his forefathers owned the land.

KARACHI: After the initial reprimand to a respondent, alleged to have encroached a public road, a division bench of the Sindh High Court appointed its nazir (a high court official) to inspect the disputed place and report whether the road meant for public use has been encroached or not.

Earlier, the respondent, Muhammad Nawaz had denied the encroachment allegation levelled by the residents/petitioners.

It was a baseless allegation, the respondent claimed. Articles available at the disputed site belong to him and are placed on a plot owned by him and that he has not encroached on the road, he Nawaz contended. “My forefathers owned the land,” he said in response to a query.

“You may be sitting there since Adam and Eve but you cannot deprive the public of an amenity,” said the bench. “You will be sent to jail if the encroachment is proven,” the bench told him at which the respondent prayed the court to get the place inspected.

The bench, accepting the plea, ordered its nazir to visit the place. The bench also ordered that the nazir’s fee will be paid by both the parties.

The bench adjourned further proceedings to a date to be fixed later by the court’s office.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2011.