KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on local administration and traffic authorities over the issue of charged parking across the city and put the DIG-traffic and administrators of all seven district municipal corporations (DMCs) on notice.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro directed the DIG and DMCs to file comments till Nov 29 and also assist it whether there is any structure available to regulate charged parking in the provincial metropolis.

A citizen filed a petition stating that the Supreme Court had clearly restrained the authorities concerned from charging fee on the pretext of parking, but the respondents were still charging it in different parts of the city by using public spaces.

The bench asked the authorities that under which law parking fee was being charged from the citizens and who had authorised vehicles parking on roads and even in several areas both sides of thoroughfares were being used for parking, which had severely been disturbing the flow of traffic.

Court imposes cost on a petitioner for frivolous petition against 5G technology, Covid vaccination

The counsel of the director-charged parking of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) sought time to file comments. Another counsel representing the Cantonment Board Karachi also made a similar request.

It was pointed out during the proceedings that the administrators of DMCs were necessary authority to assist the court on the question of charged parking. An additional advocate general, however, submitted that the DIG-traffic was also the relevant party.

“Accordingly let notice be issued to the administrators of all DMCs, Karachi, DIG traffic Karachi with directions to file their comments and assist the court about structure, if any, to regulate charged parking in Karachi city,” the court order said.

Earlier in July, another SHC bench had restrained the cantonment boards across the province and their contractors from claiming and collecting parking fee of vehicles until further orders after a petition citing the ministry of defence and all the cantonment boards of Sindh as respondents stated that these organisations could not charge parking fee in the light of a judgement of the apex court.

While referring to an advertisement issued by the Cantonment Board Clifton in March for awarding a contract for collection of parking fee, the petitioner had submitted that according to the 2015 verdict of Supreme Court in the case of Hyderabad Cantonment Board, there was no provision in the Cantonment Act, 1924 that empowers them to charge parking fee and hence such a levy was without any lawful authority.

Plea against 5G, Covid vaccination dismissed

Another SHC division bench on Wednesday dismissed a petition with cost filed against 5G technology and Covid-19 vaccination.

The bench headed by Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui directed the woman petitioner to deposit the cost of Rs25,000 in the SHC clinic within two weeks.

It observed that the petitioner did not utter a single word as to how the consequences of 5G technology could be a health hazard as she had only rested her arguments to the effect that it was injurious to health and hence illegal and unlawful.

“Fifth Generation technology is making its roots across the world and almost all the countries have framed policies to get benefit out of it,” the bench added.

As so far as Covid-19 was concerned, the bench said that perhaps the petitioner was not even remotely aware of the consequences of this disease that triggered in 2019 and had yet to be controlled.

“One should not be an obstacle by saying that he/she is not interested in such scheduled vaccination as this might result in rapid growth/increase/ontogenesis of coronavirus,” it added.

The bench further noted that earlier the SHC had also dismissed a petition filed against Covid-19 vaccination.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2021