East zone police chief issued with notice on contempt plea

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the East zone police chief, the Sachal SHO and others on a contempt application filed by a construction company against the officials for violating court orders.

The applicant Mason Construction Company stated in the plea that on September 9, 2016 the SHC had ordered status quo on a suit property admeasuring 18.2 acres situated in Sector 27-A, Scheme 33, Gulzar-e-Hijri.

The court was told that the East DIG, the Gulzar-e-Hijri DSP and the Sachal SHO misused their authority on the direction of a private contemnor Mirza Asif Baig. The bench was also told that they tried to enter the suit property and damaged the main entrance of the suit property, worth around Rs30 million, in violation of court orders and now they were restricting access of the applicant.

The applicant claimed that the contemnors had wilfully violated court orders of status quo on the suit property, and requested the court to punish the contemnors for violating the orders.

After the preliminary hearing of the application, the court issued notices to the East DIG, the Gulzar-e-Hijri DSP, the Sachal SHO and Baig on the contempt application, calling for their comments to be filed on February 25.

This is not the first time the East zone police chief has been involved in a court case concerning land. Last month the SHC had issued notices to him, the District Malir SSP and others on a petition of a citizen against harassment, and directed them to conduct themselves strictly in accordance with the law in respect of 17 acres of land in Scheme 33.

The direction came during the hearing of a petition of Iqbal Ahmed against the police and revenue authorities for allegedly facilitating a land grabber in encroaching on his 17.8 acres in Sector 27-A, Deh Songal, Scheme 33, Gulzar-e-Hijri.

The petitioner’s counsel Ishtiaq Azam said the police were patronising the land grabber and threatening his client and his client’s watchman in respect of his land. He asked the court to restrain the police and revenue officials and the alleged land grabber from harassing, blackmailing and threatening the petitioner and his watchman.

He also requested the court to restrain them from taking any coercive action against the petitioner without due course of law in respect of the piece of land in any manner until the final disposal of the petition.

Issuing notices to the East DIG, the Malir SSP and others, the court told them to file their comments and directed the official respondents to conduct themselves strictly in accordance with the law.