Sindh High Court orders arrest of SSP East

Officer repeatedly failed to appear in case of illegal construction of police station

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued on Tuesday warrants for the arrest of the District East senior superintendent of police (SSP) for failing to appear in a case relating to the alleged illegal construction of a police station on private land.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, directed the East DIG to arrest and produce the East SSP for defying the court's directives for his personal appearance in court.

The SHC issued these directives while hearing a petition against the alleged illegal construction of the Bahadurabad police station on private land. The petitioner, Haq Nawaz, had approached the court against the provincial home secretary, IG, East DIG, East SSP and Bahadurabad SHO.



The petitioner informed the judges that he was given ownership of a land of 300 square yards by the concerned authorities after fulfilling all the legal formalities and payment of the requisite fee. However, the police encroached upon the private land and set up Bahadurabad police station in violation of the rules.

The petition was filed back in 2009, but senior police officials have been avoiding appearing in court despite the issuance of repeated orders. The court was pleaded to order the relevant authorities to demolish the illegally constructed police station and retrieve the petitioner's land.

In the last hearing, the bench had issued a notice to the East SSP, ordering him to appear in person to answer the court's queries. However, the officer was absent when the court took up the matter on Tuesday.



A police official informed the court that the SSP was not feeling well, requesting to excuse his absence. However, the judges took exception to the officer's truancy and ordered to issue a warrant for his arrest. The bench directed the East DIG to produce the officer on the next date of hearing.

Restoration of playground

Meanwhile, the same bench directed the Cantonment Board Clifton Director Dr Sajjad Ahmed to immediately restore a playground in Punjab Colony where garbage was being dumped allegedly to usurp the amenity land.

The court also sought a reply from the officer on an application seeking contempt of court proceedings for not removing the garbage from the playground in question.



Modern Cricket Club had approached the court against the cantonment board's management alleging that it had deliberately started dumping garbage on a portion of the ground so that it can be encroached upon. It was argued that the amenity plot could not be used for any other purpose other than what it was originally allocated for.

In the last hearing, the petitioner had moved an application seeking contempt proceedings against Dr Ahmed who allegedly did not implement the court's directives for removing garbage piles and restoring the portion of the ground.

Appearing on the court's notice, Dr Ahmed informed that the garbage was being dumped at the playground for the last 40 years. He denied that the land was deliberately turned into a dumping ground so that it could be illegally occupied.



The judges ordered that the subject portion of the playground be restored to its original position whether the garbage was being thrown there for the last 40 years or 400 years.

Adjourning the hearing date to be notified later, the bench also directed Dr Ahmed to submit his reply to the contempt of court petition.