"No efforts except dictating a letter to the steno was made, which shows the bureaucratic mindset of the office of the commissioner," SHC Chief Justice Mushir Alam. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Chief Justice Mushir Alam passed this order while heading a bench during the hearing of a suo motu case against encroachments. The proceedings are based on a written application submitted by an additional registrar at SHC’s Hyderabad circuit bench last year. The registrar had complained that the security of judges is threatened by encroachments and illegal parking along the highway.
Alam had converted the application into a constitutional petition on April 14 to initiate proper proceedings and notices were issued to the city government and other functionaries over the matter.
On Tuesday, additional advocate general Miran Muhammad Shah appeared along with Motorway Police inspector Khalid Iqbal and Gulzar-e-Hijri traffic DSP Liaquat Ali Dogar. But, compliance was not made.
This irritated the judges, who remarked that, “The Karachi commissioner makes tall claims to enforce law in compliance of court orders but, in this case, his performance is very well exposed.” Merely making claims sitting in the office is not sufficient, they noted. The bench recalled that the order for removal of encroachments and obstacles was passed on November 14, 2012, and on January 28. The commissioner, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation functionaries and the local administration were directed to remove all kinds of encroachment at Sohrab Goth and prevent their recurrence in the future.
AAG Miran Shah produced a copy of the commissioner’s order dated June 7, wherein the functionaries were directed to comply with the court’s order and submit a compliance report with the provincial advocate general. The gap in communication of the court’s order by the highest office of the city commissioner further angered the judges.
“Such callous direction does not benefit his office,” Alam remarked. “No efforts except dictating a letter to the steno was made, which shows the bureaucratic mindset of the office of the commissioner.”
The bench ordered that in case action is not taken, the commissioner would face contempt proceedings and appear in person to explain the delays in communicating directions of the court to the other authorities. The hearing was adjourned till August 20.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 14th, 2013.
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