SHC restrains KDA, KMC from demolishing 78 houses in Mujahid Colony

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday restrained the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and others from taking any adverse action against 78 houses of Mujahid Colony in the Nazimabad area until it has been established that the petitioners have encroached upon the state land and have no title documents.

The direction came on a petition filed by 78 residents of Mujahid Colony who claimed that they were owners of 78 houses constructed in the locality as per the original layout plan of the Sindh Katchi Abadis Authority.

Counsels for the petitioners Syed Haider Imam Rizvi and Tehmasp Rasheed Razvi submitted that allotment orders had been issued to the petitioners and one of them had been given lease.

They submitted that the KDA and KMC anti-encroachment cell had started removal of encroachments in Mujhaid Colony to retrieve a 150-foot-wide road but during the demolition drive, the respondents had also threatened the petitioners with possible demolition of their houses as well which were neither illegal nor part of the road.

The lawyers submitted that Mujahid Colony was duly notified and approved Katchi Abadi falling within the domain of the Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority, due to which the KMC and KDA had no jurisdiction over the petitioners’ houses. They submitted that the subject area of the petitioners were also not covered under the orders of the Supreme Court with regard to removal of encroachments on amenity lands.

The high court was requested to restrain the respondents from taking any adverse action of demolition against the petitioners in respect of 78 houses without due process of the law. They also sought inspection of the area through the Nazir of the court.

A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi after the preliminary hearing of the petition issued pre-admission notices to the KMC, KDA and others, and in the meantime, directed the Nazir to inspect the site along with a nominee of the petitioners as well as official respondents within a week.

The SHC also restrained the official respondents from taking any adverse action against the petitioners’ houses until it was established that the petitioners’ houses had encroached upon the government land and they did not have any right and title in respect of their houses.