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KARACHI, May 24: The Sindh High Court restrained a builder on Wednesday from selling flats and shops in his seven-storeyed project or creating third party interest in them or delivering their possession.
An urgent application for an injunction was moved by the Karachi Building Control Authority in a pending suit instituted by M/s Wakeel Builders in respect of their Beach Residency and Shopping Mall project constructed on plot Com-2/5, Block 3, Scheme-5, Clifton. The firm complained in its suit that the KBCA was interfering in its operations after sanctioning the construction design and issuing a no-objection certificate for sale of housing and commercial units.
The KBCA submitted that an allottee who had booked an apartment in the project in the year 2000 for a total price of about 3.2 million approached it with the complaint that his allotment had been cancelled despite payment of the price. He said the builder wanted to enhance the price following a hike in the property value in the recent years. The authority summoned the builder to ascertain the correct position and settle the dispute, but the builder filed a suit instead of participating in the conciliation proceedings.
KBCA counsel Shahid Jamil Khan said the authority was the competent authority to resolve disputes arising between builders and allottees. It was empowered by the Sindh Building Control Ordinance to take action against a builder for violation of rules and regulations. The Beach Residency builder was issued a no-objection certificate for sale subject to maximum unit price of Rs32, 67,000 for each flat having a covered area of 1485 square feet. The regularization plan was approved but certain objections were raised and conveyed to the builder when the construction firm approached the authority for a revised no-objection certificate for sale of apartments and shops in the project. Meanwhile, an allottee approached the KBCA with the grievance that the builder has cancelled his allotment on his refusal to pay an enhanced price.
The authority sought the dismissal of the builder’s suit as not maintainable and moved an application for an injunction. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, who is seized of the case, issued a notice to the builder for May 30 and restrained the plaintiff builder from selling flats and shops in the project or from otherwise creating third party interest or delivering possession of the units in the meanwhile.
POLL PETITION: A Sindh High Court division bench directed a local council election tribunal on Wednesday to hear and decide an election petition afresh.
Nazim Ahsanullah and deputy nazim Zafar Iqbal of union council 1, Muzaffarabad Colony, Landhi Town, moved a petition challenging an election tribunal decision for fresh polls in the council and registration of a criminal case against the nazim for producing a bogus matriculation certificate. Their election was impugned by their defeated rivals as, according to them, the nazim was not eligible to contest the poll being a non-matriculate. The madressah certificate or sanad submitted by the nazim with his nomination papers was not equivalent to the matriculation certificate, the election petition said.
The election petition was heard by an additional district and sessions judge designated as election tribunal by the local councils election authority. In the course of proceedings, the nazim claimed that besides the madressah sanad, he also had a matriculation certificate obtained by him after passing the matriculation examination. The certificate was sent to the board of education for verification and was found to have been fabricated. The election tribunal decided the matter on the basis of the fake matriculation certificate and ordered re-election in addition to registration of a criminal case against the holder, the nazim.
Advocates Hamidullah argued before a division bench, comprising Justices Ghulam Rabbani and Gulzar Ahmed, that the election tribunal erred in deciding the matter on the basis of the allegedly fake matriculation certificate.
The bench remanded the case to the tribunal for reconsideration.
