Residents of Moon Gardens resist as the police move to get their flats evacuated on Friday. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
The order was passed by a division bench, headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, which had earlier ordered the police IG to get the premises vacated. The project is claimed to have been raised on land belonging to the Pakistan Railways Cooperative Housing Society.
The temporary relief came after dozens of the families facing eviction spent the second consecutive day in court, waiting for hours for their case to be heard. Some children played in the court's corridors while their mother shed tears. Their neighbours back home continuously kept them updated on the movement of the police and Rangers personnel who were there to evict them.
The two judges directed, however, the lawyer representing the families to argue on the maintainability of their application pleading to allow them join the proceedings as intervener.
Advocate Shabbir Hussain Shah had filed an application requesting to implead the occupants of the Moon Gardens project as party in the proceedings. They had also urged the court to temporarily suspend its order passed on September 29 this year that directed the police and Sindh Building Control Authority to get the building vacated and demolished.
He maintained that the applicants are the bonafide purchasers of the apartments. Neither were they aware of any restraining order in the suit nor of any further orders passed by SHC or the undertaking of the builder before the Supreme Court in the earlier round of proceedings. After going through the case records, the judges noted that Shah's contention appears to be incorrect. At least four, out of seven applicants in the aforesaid applications, had also filed applications under Order 1, Rule 10 of the CPC. They remarked that the applicants were in fact aware of the proceedings as the order, which they had challenged in court on February 25 and "therefore, the applicants cannot plead ignorance".
The judges further told the lawyer that some of the applicants and others had filed a petition in the respect of the present controversy as well.
Families relieved
The residents of the 180 apartments now are ready to go back to their homes. "At least for the time being we have been provided with relief," said one of the residents, Saeed Shariq, as he left the court premises smiling. However, for the homes which have been sealed earlier, he said that the residents will file another application later.
Another resident, Ali Zafar said that they will end their protest now and hoped that the issue is resolved in their interest soon.
Eviction team
As the case proceeded in court, a large number of policemen reached Moon Garden to seal the shops located on the ground floor but they returned by the evening after the judges ordered a temporary stay in dispossession.
Earlier, the law enforcers had faced resistance from the residents but they held negotiations and settled the matter. "We sealed 20 more flats and nearly half a dozen shops," said DSP Nasir Lodhi, who was leading the police team. "Those flats and shops that have already been sealed will remain sealed while no further action will be taken until further court orders."
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2015.
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