SHC seeks proposal to cover poor family’s expenses

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has put the social welfare secretary on notice, asking him to furnish a concrete proposal for covering expenses of a family comprising people with disabilities and a destitute woman.

The development came on an application of Syed Ghulam Murtaza Shah against a landlord who wanted to evict him from his land. The applicant submitted that he had retired as a compounder at a public sector hospital and used a wheelchair due to which he was included in people with disabilities. He also submitted that he had a son who suffered from a mental disorder and a daughter who was unmarried.

The applicant’s daughter informed the court that her father received a monthly pension of Rs14,000 from which, after paying rent of Rs6,000 to the landlord, she had only an amount of Rs8,000 left which was not enough to meet all expenses as she also needed money for the treatment of her brother and miscellaneous needs of her disabled father.

The daughter further submitted that the family was not entitled to get Zakat from Baitul Mal as they were Syed. An SHC’s single bench, comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, observed that there could be no denial that it was the ultimate responsibility of the state to take care of those who were facing exceptional challenges such as differently abled persons and destitute women. The court also observed that Zakat and Ushr was not the only institution to help the needy but different enactments were there to look for persons qualifying for assistance and provide them necessary help.

The SHC observed that health was one of the areas for which the state was absolutely responsible particularly when it came to destitute or differently abled persons. The social welfare department was already under an obligation to provide necessary help to such persons, Justice Panhwar observed.

The court issued notice to the social welfare department, directing it to furnish a concrete proposal with regard to any package for the expenses and well-being of appellant, his ill son and daughter without causing any harm to dignity of these persons. The court also directed the department’s secretary to depute any responsible person so as to make necessary treatment available to the ailing men by the department without burdening them with the cost. The court also extended its interim order restraining the respondent from evicting the appellant from the premises till further orders.