KARACHI: The Supreme Court has issued notices to the chief secretary and other respondents on an appeal filed by a senior Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader against a Sindh High Court decision through which it dismissed his petition against issuance of domiciles and permanent residence certificates (PRCs) in Karachi to non-residents.

A division bench of the apex court also put the provincial law officer on notice for a date to be fixed later. The bench ruled that the matter will be heard by a larger bench of the Supreme Court.

MQM-P’s Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hasan approached the apex court after the SHC had turned down his petition in May last year.

The two-judge SC bench comprising Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan took up the matter for hearing.

Apex court issues notices to chief secretary, others on Khawaja Izhar’s plea against dismissal of his petition by SHC

According to the written order issued on Monday, the petitioner challenged the SHC’s order and it was stated in the impugned order that the chief secretary had already constituted a Divisional Scrutiny Committee and Sindh PRC and Domicile Appellate Committee at the provincial metropolis to decide applications about violation of relevant laws.

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At the very outset, the petitioner pointed out a page of the paper-book which is a notification dated 09-07-2020, whereby an additional chief secretary constituted a committee with certain terms of reference with the directions that the committee shall complete its task within 30 days, the SC order said, adding that the petitioner said that no substantial inquiry was conducted within 30 days, rather after lapse of two years and 10 months, the committee submitted a report only for four districts and the said report was not considered by the SHC while dismissing the constitution petition.

“Points require consideration, let notice be issued to the respondents as well as the Advocate General Sindh under Order XXVII-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Office to fix this case in the next session before a three-member bench,” the apex court in its order concluded.

Khawja Izhar, along with other party leaders, had petitioned the SHC in May 2019 and stated that the domicile/PRCs had been issued to applicants allegedly without following the codal requirements i.e. without examining the oral or documentary evidence and verification of the certificate of birth either of the applicant or any of his/her parents or grandparents, as the case may be.

Citing the chief secretary, Karachi commissioner, deputy commissioners and others as respondents, the petitioners had also maintained that non-residents managed to obtain government jobs on urban quota and admissions to professional universities on the basis of such fake domiciles and PRCs and deprived the citizens of Karachi of obtaining government jobs and admissions to professional colleges and universities.

In May last year, the SHC had dismissed the petition mainly on the ground that the committees had already been constituted for deciding the applications received from aggrieved persons against issuance of PRC and domicile in violation of the Sindh PRC Rules, 1971, Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 and Pakistan Citizenship Rules, 1952 and the same were also functional and aggrieved persons may approach the same for redressal of their grievances.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2024