SHC grants bail to owner, brother in Lyari building collapse case

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday granted bail to the owner and his brother in a case pertaining to a building that collapsed in Lyari.

Rahim Bux, owner of a dilapidated multi-storey building in Lyari, and his brother Taj Mohammad were booked by the police along with officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) for causing the deaths of 27 persons who lost their lives due to the collapse of the building.

According to the prosecution, a complainant, Hamadullah, lodged an FIR at the Baghdadi police station submitting that a multi-storey building constructed in 1986 was in a dilapidated condition and this fact had been brought into the knowledge of the owner and officials of the SBCA, but they took no action. The complainant said that one portion of the building eventually collapsed on July 4, 2025, causing the deaths of 27 residents of the building.

The prosecution booked six directors of the SBCA, two deputy directors, two building inspectors and two clerks along with the owners in the case.

Shaukat Hayat, counsel for the applicant, submitted that Rahim Bux was 74 years old and no specific role had been assigned to his brother Taj Mohammad.

He said that 10 of the other accused nominated in the case, all of who belonged to the SBCA, had also been granted bail.

The counsel submitted that the applicant was himself one of the victims of the incident and it was extremely unfair that those who allegedly allowed a violation to continue for so many years had put the entire blame on the owner.

An additional prosecutor general was unable to distinguish the case against the applicant from that against the individuals who had already been granted bail.

A single bench of the high court comprising Justice Omar Sial after hearing the arguments of the counsel observed that on ground of consistency, the applicants too deserved the same concession. The court observed that the owner was an old man and he was no more required for the investigation purposes.

The high court observed that all the offences, except the one registered under the Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code, were bailable and punishment under the Section 322 offence, if proved, was the payment of Diyat and it did not envisage imprisonment.

The SHC granted bail to the applicants subject to furnishing surety in sum of Rs500,000 each to the satisfaction of trial court.