SHC reissues notices to police officials, SBCA officers

Respondents were allegedly involved in facilitating encroachments on amenity plots

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) re-issued on Thursday notices to the Malir SSP, SHO of the Ibrahim Hyderi police station and concerned Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) officers on a contempt of court application for allegedly facilitating encroachments on amenity plots in Ibrahim Hyderi.

Headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, a two-judge bench re-issued notices to them with directions to file their written replies by July 31. The applicant, Muhammad Yaseen, told the judges that some private persons had illegally occupied the plots reserved for amenities such as a hospital, school and other community purposes in Ibrahim Hyderi locality, adding that the respondents were selling such land through ‘China-cutting’.

He recalled that the court had earlier granted a stay order against encroachments on the land and its sale. He added that the SBCA officers were also directed to get amenity plots retrieved from the clutches of the encroachers for which directions were also issued to the Malir SSP and Ibrahim Hyderi SHO to provide assistance during the operation.



He alleged, however, that the Malir SSP and Ibrahim Hyderi SHO themselves were facilitating the encroachers in violation of the court’s stay order, which amounts to wilfully and deliberately committing contempt of the court’s order. Therefore, the applicant pleaded to the court to proceed against the SSP, SHO and concerned SBCA officers for contempt of the court’s order.

After the initial hearing, the bench re-issued notices to the SSP, SHO and SBCA high-ups with direction to file their written replies as to why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against them. The matter was fixed on July 31.