Amenity land reserved for public use can’t be granted to individuals: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday observed that amenity land, including that reserved for parks, is for the benefit of the residents of Karachi and reserved for public use and it cannot be granted to a few individuals for their personal gains.

The observation came during a hearing of a petition with regard to the allotment of land to individuals in Bagh Ibne Qasim in Clifton. A three-member SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, observed that small plots were allotted on amenity land and public interest was disregarded by the Karachi Development Authority.

The court turned down an adjournment request of the appellant, saying that as many as 28 hearings had been conducted and the request for another adjournment could not be accepted.

It observed that relief granted to the allottees of the plots on in amenity land was beyond the jurisdiction of the high court. It further observed that the impugned SHC order for providing alternative plots and compensation was not sustainable and set it aside.

JSMU contract employees

The SC also dismissed petitions of contract employees of Jinnah Sindh Medical University with regard to their regularisation and upheld the Sindh High Court order in this regard. The petitioner’s counsel submitted that JSMU is an independent body and the syndicate of the university can regularise the contract employees under the university by-laws.

The apex court observed that all universities in the country were facing a shortage of funds and did not have enough money to pay the salaries. It observed that every department was appointing people on a contract basis and then they regularised them.

The SC further stated that Pakistan is considered as a country which has the largest non-teaching staff in the universities. In another matter, the court dismissed a plea of a former KE inspection officer seeking restoration of his damages suit against the power utility for dismissing him from service unlawfully.

Petitioner Mohammad Asif submitted that his service was terminated by the KE without any show- cause notice upon which he filed suit for damages against the power utility. He submitted that the high court dismissed his lawsuit for being time barred. He requested the court to restore his lawsuit. He submitted that the KE has 26 percent of federal government shares and he can claim damages. The apex court observed that the federal government was privatising institutions because of such litigations. It said that the case of the petitioner was not made out and dismissed the petition.

Dow VC appointment

The court also dismissed a petition with regard to the appointment of vice chancellor to the Dow University of Health Sciences as withdrawn.