Defying orders: DHA officials put on contempt notice
The Defence Housing Authority’s (DHA) administrator and two of his subordinates have been ordered to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for allegedly violating the court’s temporary stay order.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, who headed the bench, directed DHA administrator Brig Muhammad Abdullah, director (personnel and administration) Brig Naeem and estates director Lt Col (retd) Tahir to file their replies by the next date of hearing.
Advocate Jawed Qureshi told the two-judges that the court had, on April 30, restrained the DHA administration from taking any coercive action for the recovery of Rs10,475,000 in the name of fee on base transmitter stations installed by the petitioner cellular company in the DHA neighbourhood.
In violation of the interim stay order, the DHA administration is harassing the petitioner to make such payments within a week or its BTS towers won’t be allowed to operate within the locality. “If the petitioner’s services are suspended, it will not only cause financial losses to the petitioner, but will also cause inconvenience to its consumers.”
This amounts to willfully and deliberately committing contempt of court’s orders, alleged Qureshi, requesting the court to proceed against the three DHA officers for contempt of court.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 6th, 2014.