Hints at removal of city Commissioner
Staff Reporter Karachi
The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday ordered immediate demolition of all illegal marriage halls in Karachi.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed, heard various petitions related to marriage halls at the apex court’s Karachi Registry.
Advocate Anwar Mansoor Khan, counsel for Korangi Marriage Halls Association, prayed that the marriage halls of Korangi were located on a commercial strip and carry legal status.
“The SBCA (Sindh Building Control Authority) should be stopped from demolishing the wedding halls.
People do not like to live right on the roadside, that is why the strip has been commercialized,” the counsel prayed.
The CJP remarked that was an assumption and it does not mean that everything should be commercialized. SBCA had no authority to do so, the chief justice added.
Addressing the Karachi commissioner, the chief justice said that marriage halls were being constructed all over Karachi.
“Most of the marriage halls were built on welfare plots. Go and demolish illegal marriage halls.”
Expressing displeasure, the CJP referred to the Karachi commissioner and asked where would the people go and were they provided with an alternative.
On this, the commissioner replied that alternate arrangements would be made as soon as the provincial government’s compensation policy was formulated.
“You think we will take the deputy commissioner’s report seriously? What type of a report is this?” he asked the chief secretary.
“It’s written everywhere that the report is awaited. Chief Secretary sahab remove such officers.”
The Karachi Commissioner presented a report related to the YMCA Ground during the hearing, saying that all pending work has been completed except for the installation of lights at the ground.
“If you are creating so many problems for us, imagine the number of problems you create for the people,” remarked the chief justice.
At this, the chief justice said the apex court is going to remove the Karachi Commissioner.
“Very sorry to be saying this in front of you but look at the report we have in front of us.
What can we do?” The court remarked that the person running the SBCA’s operations was making billions.
“The most amount of [illegal] money is being made in the SBCA’s Sub Registrar Office,” said the bench.
