The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the initiation of an inquiry against revenue and anti-encroachment authorities’ officials for misuse of power and their conduct relating to anti-encroachment drives in District Malir’s Abdullah Goth, Dur Mohammad Goth and Lashari Goth.
The direction came on a petition with regard to the encroachment of land in the Shah Latif Town area and the excessive occupation of 1,784 acres by the Malir Development Authority (MDA).
An SHC division bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar said that actions of the revenue and anti-encroachment authorities raise serious concerns regarding the potential misuse of power and excesses of their legally conferred authority.
The court said that the allegations suggest a disregard for the due process of law and the rights of citizens, particularly the underprivileged segments of society. The bench appointed the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) chairman as inquiry officer to determine if the actions taken were within the bounds of the land revenue laws, and the Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Act, 2010, and its rules.
The court said that the inquiry officer should also determine if the provincial government delegated its powers to remove encroachments from public properties to the revenue and anti-encroachment authorities through the publication of a notification in the official gazette in accordance with the provisions of Section 9, read with Section 3(1), of the 2010 Act.
The bench directed the inquiry officer to scrutinise the regularisation process of the Dur Mohammad Jatoi village and the consideration of documents annexed by intervenor Manhar Zonian by the revenue department. The court said that the Malir deputy commissioner had filed a report that details the existence of Abdullah Goth, Dur Mohammad Goth and Lashari Goth, and the construction of pakka/cemented houses, a mosque and residences of numerous families.
