SHC restrains KMC, others from harassing cattle market contractors in Clifton, Nazimabad

The Sindh High Court has restrained the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and others from harassing the cattle markets contractors in Clifton and Nazimabad areas.

The direction came on petitions filed by cattle market contractors against harassment and dispossession. The petitioners’ counsel submitted that they had been given permission by the KMC veterinary services senior director for establishment of a cattle market in Nazimabad No 2 and near Hyper Star in Clifton for Eidul Azha.

They submitted that officials of the KMC and police had started harassing the petitioners and they were threatening them of eviction from the premises where they had made a large investment by establishing of sheds and huts.

They submitted that the commissioner had notified the cattle markets as the KMC land and prayed the high court to restrain the respondents from harassing them or evicting them from the subject land without due process of the law.

A division bench of the high court headed by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi after a preliminary hearing of the petitions issued pre-admission notices to the KMC, Karachi Port Trust and others, and called their comments on June 10.

The high court in the meantime directed the respondents to conduct themselves in accordance with the law and if the petitioners had set up the cattle market on the subject lands after obtaining permission from the KMC, no harassment should be caused.

In another matter with regard to award of the contract of a cattle market in New Karachi, the SHC took exception to the conduct of government departments, including the KMC, and observed that the government departments were not cognisant of their legal obligations, rules and regulations that needed to be followed for awarding public contracts.

The high court observed that arbitrary authority was being exercised while issuing permission to one party, then cancelling that permission without notice and issuing a fresh no objection certificate to another party.

The high court directed the KMC to resolve the controversy between the two parties with regard to the award of public contract with regard to setting up of a cattle market in New Karachi within three days and directed the parties to maintain status quo in the matter.