On Monday, the other defendant, Manzoor Qadir, appeared before the judge and furnished his unconditional apology. PHOTO: PPI/FILE
Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, who headed the bench, ordered the station house officer of the relevant police station to arrest and produce the defiant officer in court on April 28.
The arrest warrants have been issued over the alleged defiance on the part of Rehman who failed to implement the court's November 11, 2012 order to de-seal a private property.
Muhammad Abid had filed the contempt application, saying that the court had ordered the then local government secretary, Lala Fazalur Rehman, and the then director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Manzoor Qadir, to de-seal his property located on plot No. 5 in Parsi Colony.
According to Abid, his mother and aunt had purchased the property through a sale deed executed with its previous owner, Farook Manochar Joshi, on January 11, 1986 and started a car showroom on the premises in question.
The deputy director of Jamshed Town, on September 15, 2011, had sealed off the property, including the residential and commercial portions, without giving any prior notice, he alleged. The applicant further claimed that the entire area facing MA Jinnah Road was declared commercial since it was constructed, but the officials had illegally and unlawfully sealed his property.
His lawyer, ZU Mujahid, told the judges that the bench had directed the officials to act in accordance with the law on November 11, 2012. Their failure to obey that order amounted to willfully and deliberately committing contempt of the court, the lawyer alleged.
The court was pleaded to initiate contempt proceedings against the then SBCA DG and the LG secretary Lala Fazalur Rehman.
Taking notice of the alleged non-compliance of its orders on April 2, the bench had issued bailable warrants for the arrests of Manzoor Qadir and Lala Fazalur Rehman with direction to the relevant SHO to arrest and produce them in court.
On Monday, Manzoor Qadir appeared before the judge and furnished his unconditional apology.
Accepting his plea, the judges ordered him to remain cautious in the future. The court was informed, however, that the bailable warrants had not been served upon Lala Fazalur Rehman.
The bench ordered its office to repeat the bailable warrants in the sum of Rs50,000 for Lala Fazalur Rehman with direction to the relevant SHO to arrest and produce him by April 28.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2014.
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