Waiting for approval: Report called on status of bill on amendments to SBC Ordinance

SBCA’s legal adviser tells court that bill was still pending approval.

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court called a report from the provincial government on Tuesday on the status of the proposed bill regarding amendments to the Sindh Building Control Ordinance, which, if approved, would authorise the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to establish its own court to carry out punishments.

SHC Chief Justice Mushir Alam, who headed the bench, gave two weeks to the additional advocate general (AAG), Meeran Muhammad Shah, to file the report.

The SBCA had approached the court, seeking direction for expediting the process of setting up a special SBCA court in accordance with the SHC’s order. The authority’s legal adviser, Shahid Jamiluddin Ahmed Khan, submitted that the SHC registrar’s office had issued a notification to confer powers of special judicial magistrate upon three senior office-bearers of the SBCA in 2010.

In his plea, Khan had said that the issue of establishing SBCA’s special court was pending with the registrar’s office, and no positive reply had been received. He pointed out that there was no legal provision for establishing a court provided in the Sindh Building Control Ordinance 1979. However, such a provision was in the bill on proposed amendments to the ordinance, which is still pending approval.

During previous hearings, the judges had observed that the high court could not designate any special court on its own unless it was provided and mandated under the law. They had directed the provincial law secretary to get the bill tabled and approved by the assembly.

On Tuesday, AAG Meeran Muhammad Shah informed the court that the government had taken into consideration the bill on proposed legal amendments to the Sindh Building Control Ordinance, thus the petitioner’s grievance had been addressed. Disputing his claim, SBCA’s legal advisor, Shahid Jamiluddin Khan, claimed that the bill was still pending approval.

Under the circumstances, the bench directed AAG Shah to submit a report as to whether the proposed bill had been taken into consideration or not within two weeks.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2013.