KARACHI, Feb 16: The Sindh High Court stayed on Monday the public auction of an 11,900-square-yard plot carved out of Marina Promenade adjacent to Bagh Ibne Qasim for a five-star hotel and shopping mall scheduled by the city district government for Tuesday.

Veteran columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee and others instituted a suit through Advocate Abdul Rehman against the commercialization of the plot (No ST 36, KDA Scheme 5, Block 3), saying that being part of the promenade, it was an amenity plot that could not be put to any other use, commercial, residential or industrial.

The conversion of the plot and the hotel and shopping mall proposed to be raised on it were unlawful and the plot was being illegally auctioned by the city district government.

Issuing a notice to the city government, Justice Gulzar Ahmed restrained the respondent from holding the impugned auction on Tuesday.

Pump on highway

A division bench, meanwhile, issued notices to the National Highway Authority, the city district government and other respondents in a petition questioning installation of a CNG station at an interchange in Scheme 33, Deh Songal, in front of Dawood Regency, National Highway.

Petitioner Shaikh Muhammad Faisal submitted through Advocate Ziaul Haq Makhdoom that said any area reserved for expansion of a highway was also an amenity area and cannot be put to any other use. The ‘right of way’ is also defined as ‘road’ in the NHA Act, 1991. The NHA has no authority to lease out land for petrol pumps or CNG stations.

The control of roads, highways or ‘right of way’ vests in the NHA for the purpose of planning, development, operation and maintenance of national highways and strategic roads and matters incidental thereto. The whole purpose for which the NHA was established would be defeated if the authority were allowed to indulge in the business of leasing roads and ‘rights of way’ to private individuals.

The petitioner has challenged the grant of lease to M/s Total Parco and the bench observed that if the lessee raised any construction, it would be liable to demolish it at its own cost if the petition was allowed.

Cantt limits

A division bench comprising Justices Mohammad Athar Saeed and Syed Mahmood Alam Rizvi constituted a committee consisting of the chief secretary, the district co-ordination officer and the director of military lands to delineate the territorial jurisdiction of the Faisal Cantonment Board. A CNG pump owner challenged the cantonment board notice for payment of charges for conversion of a plot in Gulistan-i-Jauhar area.

The petitioner submitted that he had already paid the charges to the city district government as the plot fell within the remit of the CDGK. The bench asked the petitioner to deposit Rs6 million and the CDGK to furnish an undertaking for Rs4 million with the nazir of the court as security pending the hearing of the petition. Meanwhile, a high-powered committee would look into the FCB territorial jurisdiction and submit its report within 30 days. Further hearing was adjourned to March 28.

AHRC petition

A complaint made by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong, and converted by the chief justice into a petition in suo motu exercise of his power has, meanwhile, been listed for hearing on Tuesday.

The commission said eight innocent women and children were arrested and detained by the police for a considerable period to get hold of a dacoit alleged to have kidnapped Dr Abdul Jalal Bachani, executive district officer (health), Hyderabad. The police suspected that the detainees picked up by it were related to the dacoit. The suspicion was unfounded and, in any case, no innocent person could be detained as a ‘hostage’ for recovery of an accused.

The petitioner urged the release of the detainees, return of all their belongings seized by police, payment of compensation for illegal confinement and action against the delinquent officials involved.