KARACHI: Expressing extreme annoyance over the failure of the provincial board of revenue (BoR) and anti-encroachment force in retrieving encroached state land, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed them to submit a detailed report about the recovery of illegally occupied state land.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani was seized with the Karachi sou motu judgement implementation case at the apex court’s Karachi Registry. The other bench members were Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Amir Hani Muslim, Gulzar Ahmed and Mushir Alam, all former judges of the Sindh High Court, two of them former chief justices of the SHC.

Visibly irked and completely dissatisfied with the submissions of BoR counsel and the Anti-Encroachment Force SP regarding the actions if taken any against the encroachers, the bench directed them to submit a detailed report on recovery of the state land, action taken against encroachments, number of FIRs lodged against encroachments, case filed in anti-encroachment tribunals, and number of show-cause notices issued to illegal occupants under the Sindh Public Property Act.

SP Arif Aziz earned the ire of the bench when he stated that only two FIRs were lodged against land grabbers since he assumed the office three months ago.

“It means there are no encroachments on the land in the province,” a bench member snapped as the SP went on to state that so far 143 cases were registered against encroachments and 46 of them were disposed of by declaring them untraced in A Class.

The absence of the senior member of BoR during the proceedings on illegal occupation of state land on medical grounds further irked the judges as one of them wondered if it was the revenue department’s policy to post only ailing person as senior BoR member.

Land allotment policy

The bench directed the Advocate General, Sindh Abdul Fatah Malik to submit the land allotment policy of the provincial government in court within 15 days.

The bench was hearing an application of the Inter-Services Intelligence seeking review of the apex court’s earlier restraining order against allotment of state land.

The counsel for the ISI submitted that 10 acres in Deh Mandro, Karachi was given to the ISI on 99-year lease for residential purposes at half of the market price and that notwithstanding the approval of the Sindh chief minister, the matter was held up due to the stay granted by the apex court.

The bench directed the advocate general to seek instructions and also examine the policy framed by the Punjab government for disposal of state land.

The AG submitted that he would file a concise statement within 15 days.

One of the bench members was of the view that state land could not be leased out on an application moved to the chief minister. He said if the ISI required land for housing scheme for its employees than it should be allotted through a proper policy.The bench asked the chief provincial law officer if there was any policy of the provincial government for allotting state land for residential purposes. The AG informed the court that there was no policy in place in this regard.

The CJP observed that the provincial government should frame a policy for leasing out the state land.

SSP Rao Anwar case

Additional Inspector General Iqbal Mehmood, who is looking after the charge of the IGP, Sindh, submitted that an inquiry was conducted against some officers, including SP Rao Anwar Ahmed Khan, by an inquiry committee headed by the Karachi commissioner and two senior officers.

He said that the committee exonerated the officers and SSP Rao Anwar was again posted as SSP-Malir.

The bench directed the home secretary to file a concise statement as to since when Rao Anwar was posted as SSP-Malir.

The court also ordered that the home secretary’s statement shall also carry a note on Rao Anwar’s service profile.

Karachi police chief Shahid Hayat filed a report on the law and order situation.

The bench directed the deputy attorney general to get in touch with the Rangers and submit a report on law and order on the next date of hearing.

Meanwhile, the bench kept the issue of appointing a commission for ensuring recovery of custom duty pending and observed that the court would like to trust the BoR to carry out its functions more vigilantly and effectively so that no one is allowed to evade customs duties and taxes.

However, the court also observed that it would pass an appropriate order only if any laxity was found in part of BoR in the collection of duty.

Irrigation dept land

The Supreme Court was on Wednesday informed that over 150,000-square-foot land belonging to the irrigation department had been illegally occupied in Sukkur by different people, including Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Islamuddin Shaikh.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani was seized with a petition against the illegal occupation of the irrigation department’s land where hotels, marriage halls and other commercial buildings were illegally raised. The two bench members were Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Khilji Arif Hussain.

On Wednesday, the chief engineer of the irrigation department appeared in court on notice and stated that different people had set up hotels, restaurants, marriage halls and other commercial buildings on the state land.

The bench issued a notice to Senator Shaikh, the owner of a hotel on the encroached land, and directed the relevant authorities to submit a detailed report on the matter within 15 days.

The court also directed the hotel owner to make it clear that the building was constructed legally and to produce all documents in this regard.

During the hearing, managing director of the hotel appeared and informed the court that the land in question was legally owned by Senator Shaikh, who was doing a lawful business.

The CJP remarked that it was perfectly alright if the business was being carried out lawfully, but added that business on illegally occupied land was not acceptable by any means.

Action against illegal billboards

The same bench directed the Karachi administrator and the cantonment board concerned to remove all illegal hoardings, signboards and billboards from their respective jurisdictions directing them to submit a detailed report on the issue within one month.The bench was seized with a petition against the additional charges and fees imposed by the respondent authorities on the signboards.

The court directed the respondents to charge fee according to law.

During the hearing counsel for the respondent cantonment board, Advocate Khaled Jawed Khan, forwarded his arguments for imposing additional charges and enhanced fee.

However, the court asked him to withdrawn his application or the court would dispose of the matter in accordance with law.

Later, the counsel withdrew the application asking the court to allow the cantonment board to charge fee under the law.

Missing persons’ case

The same bench directed the federal and provincial law officers to file the comments of the law enforcement agencies on a petition seeking whereabouts of two young men.

Petitioner Hasan Bano told the bench that the law enforcement agencies personnel arrested her son, Umer Farooq, and his friend, Salman Muhammad Iqbal, at the Karachi Toll Plaza on Nov 17, 2013 when they were on their way to Naseerpur to attend a marriage ceremony.

She said that the police and Rangers were approached to know the whereabouts of the two missing young men, but they feigned ignorance about the matter.

The woman said that her son was the only brother of his seven sisters and the sole bread earner of the family, while the other young man was their neighbour and her son’s friend. She said that their only crime was that they were the residents of mafia-infested vicinity of Lyari.

The bench directed the deputy attorney general to submit a report on the matter and adjourned the hearing to a date to be later announced by the court’s office.