The Sindh High Court on Monday warned various officials of the Sindh Revenue Board, including its senior member, of contempt proceedings if they did not compensate a litigant by November 19.
The case relates to the 69.34 acres of land that had been acquired from Rabia Rana and Company by the Sindh government for the Port Qasim Authority in the 1970s. The owner had requested the government to allot her an alternate piece of land instead of paying cash for it. Karachi Commissioner at the time had reportedly accepted the offer. However, neither the alternate land nor any compensation has been given till now, complained the petitioner’s lawyer, Shahenshah Hussain.
The high court had, on August 18, 2004, directed the revenue board to compensate the petitioner by the next two months. However, after the passage of six years, the Port Qasim Authority informed the court that it had paid the money to the board, which had then reportedly deposited it with the State Bank of Pakistan.
However, it turned out this September that the funds were not deposited with the court nazir, despite the high court’s orders, after a passage of 19 months. The petitioner’s lawyer pointed out that the court had directed revenue board officials to settle the issue by Monday (November 12), but apparently to no avail. Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, who was representing the revenue board, said that the funds had been processed, but the cheque could not be prepared due to “certain unavoidable circumstances”. He assured the court that the petitioner would be compensated within one week’s time.
“Although there is hardly any justification for granting further time, this is the last chance [for the revenue board]. In case the order is not complied with and payment is not made, contempt proceedings shall straightaway may be initiated against officers who are present here, as well as the board’s senior member,” said Justice Maqbool Baqir.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2012.
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