SC tells govt to explain construction of Napa auditorium at Hindu Gymkhana

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Sindh government to file a reply to a petition against the construction of an auditorium on the premises of the Hindu Gymkhana, a heritage building.

Hearing the petition with regard to the construction of the auditorium, a three-member bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed inquired a provincial law officer how the construction was allowed at the heritage-declared property.

The additional advocate general of Sindh submitted that the Gymkhana premises was rented out for establishing the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa); however, the Napa administration raised the auditorium and obtained an order from the high court.

The court observed that the construction of the auditorium at the heritage-declared property was a serious matter and asked the provincial law officer what action had been taken against officers who granted permission for the auditorium. The court directed the provincial law officer to submit their comments on the petition.

Napa had submitted before the court that the Hindu Gymkhana was given to it on a 30 years’ lease. It said it had not changed the character of the main building, but it had constructed the auditorium on the vacant land and did not touch the heritage site.

Bail plea dismissed

The Supreme Court dismissed the bail application of a revenue officer in an illegal allotment case. Mohammad Younus had approached the court for obtaining protective bail in a case pertaining to the illegal allotment of 35 acres. The court observed that it was unfortunate that most of the government land, including in Karachi, had been encroached upon due to inaction on the part of government officers.