Demolition of Makkah Tower stopped till Nov 8
Residents of Makkah Terrace stand outside the building in distress face to face with SBCA offiicials who had come to demolish the building on court orders. PHOTO: Express
The Sindh High Court (SHC), while issuing a written order on the petition filed by the residents of Makkah Terrace, restrained the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) from demolishing the building on till November 8, stating that departments concerned are concealing facts.
The written order was issued by a two-member bench comprising Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput and Justice Muhammad Faisal Kamal Alam. The written order states that the flat owners have all the legal documents and the departments concerned are not presenting the complete facts before the court. If the building is demolished, there will be irreparable damage. The court adjourned the hearing till November 8, ordering an immediate halt to the demolition proceedings.
Earlier the bench had rejected a verbal request of residents of Makkah Terrace seeking an immediate restraining order against the SBCA from taking final action regarding the removal of encroachments from Preedy Street.
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Justice Rajput remarked that the court had ordered removal of encroachments on the Makkah Terrace. “You are an illegal allottee and your allotment process is itself incomplete. It is illegal to take up residence without a completion certificate. The court has ordered to vacate the compulsory open space,” the court remarked.
“We are not shopkeepers, but apartment owners,” the counsel argued, adding that the Compulsory Open Space Act applied to shopkeepers. “We live in flats upstairs which are legal structures,” the counsel contended during an emotional outburst.
Justice Alam angrily remarked, “Are you here to make a speech or to legally argue the case?” The court reprimanded the counsel of the residents of Makkah Terrace.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 5th, 2021.