KARACHI: A sessions court on Saturday decided to initiate criminal proceedings within seven days against top provincial police and government authorities, revenue and anti-encroachment officials and others for failing to comply with its earlier directives to protect the state lands in Karachi’s district West from land grabbers and “real estate mafia”.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (West) Zulfiqar Ali passed this order while hearing a citizen’s complaint against illegal occupation on his 120-square-yard plot in Hassan Brohi Goth.

The court also directed deputy district public prosecutor Muhammad Arif Sitai to submit a list of key officers for initiating criminal proceedings against them if the court’s Nov 14 order was not complied with.

On Nov 14, the court had observed: “It is a sorry state of affairs in District West where there are many such government lands which fall prey to land grabbers/ illegally procured lands become the breeding ground for unlawful buying and selling practices, thus not only ripping off innocent persons but also contributing to a spike in registration of civil and criminal cases, as well as those of murder”.

Judge Zulfiqar Ali gives seven days to authorities to comply with court’s order by protecting state lands in district West

The judge had stated in the order that senior government and police officials were not only “wilfully negligent, but also keep getting their hands dirty in facilitating illegal occupation of these lands”.

The court had warned the officials of not only criminal proceedings but issuing an order in respect of “their incompetence/unfitness for their offices as well as invoke departmental proceedings” if its directives were not complied with by any of them.

During Saturday’s proceedings, the judge noted that the senior officers — including the IGP, city police chief, DIG-West, SSP-West, SP-West, director anti-corruption establishment, Board of Revenue chairman, land utilization secretary, Member Gothabad, BoR, and others — remained absent without any intimation to the court regarding their absence.

“In any case, this Court will initiate an action against them within seven days,” the court order stated.

The court allowed the request of the Karachi commissioner to furnish a report in compliance with the court’s Nov 14 directives.

The judge directed the IGP-Sindh to affirmatively intervene in this matter. “Otherwise, in the case, the Chief along with AIG and DIG Police may have to be added to the docket of this Court.”

The court directed the chiefs of the K-Electric and Sui Southern Gas Company to file their respective reports, stating as to why gas and electricity connections had been provided at the government land i.e. NA-Class No.30, Deh Naggan, Sub-Division Manghopir West.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2022