Mayor’s plea against billboard ban admitted for urgent hearing

Lawyer says local government has enacted rules on orders of Supreme Court and got them approved

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has approved the plea of Karachi Mayor, Murtaza Wahab for an urgent hearing against the ban on billboards installed across the city. The court has remarked that the post 2016 judgments of the Supreme Court should be taken into consideration before taking any decision.

A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice of the SHC, Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi accepted the petition of Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab for urgent hearing. Shahab Sarki Advocate, the lawyer of the Mayor, stated that by showing the 2016 order of the Supreme Court, an order was taken from the SHC to take action against the billboards. He submitted that after the Supreme Court's 2016 order, there have been several orders. Rules related to billboards have been enacted on the orders of the Supreme Court.

The court has inquired that as to what urgency is there in this case. Shahab Sarki Advocate replied that the SHC has ordered action against the billboards on December 15, until then their billboards will be taken down. There was a hearing in the Supreme Court on December 20, and the rules were enacted on the orders of the Supreme Court which were passed by the Sindh government. The work is going on as per the Sindh Government Act 2021 and there is no violation.

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The court remarked that the decision should be taken by looking at the post 2016 judgments of the Supreme Court. Action should be taken against the billboards installed in the city according to the local government rules. The court adjourned the hearing till January 18.

Later in a conversation with The Express Tribune, Shahab Sarki Advocate said that the petition that was filed against them in the High Court did not give complete details, only one order of 2016 was shown, while there are Supreme Court orders in 2018 and 2020 as well. He said that the local government has enacted the rules on the orders of the Supreme Court and got them approved.

Lawyer of Mayor Karachi said, "Today, the Chief Justice has informed the whole matter and he has also said that whatever orders have come from the Supreme Court after 2016, they should be taken into consideration."

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2023.