The Sindh High Court on Tuesday issued notices to Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Sindh Building Control Authority and others on petitions seeking a judicial inquiry into the Gul Plaza fire tragedy.
Petitioners Saleem Michael and Mohammad Hasan Khan submitted that the fire broke out on January 17 and gutted the entire building, leaving 26 people died and the whereabouts of more than 80 persons were still unknown.
They said eyewitnesses said the building had no proper fire exit and emergency gates or safety arrangements. They said the firefighting efforts were hammered due to lack of fire safety equipment and one firefighter also lost his life during the rescue operation.
They submitted that the high court on December 8, 2020 issued detailed and operative directions, inter alia, including but not limited to ensuring availability and functionality of fire tenders within a stipulated timeframe; maintaining, activating and making fully operational the emergency fire helpline “16”; constituting and operationalizing divisional, district and sub-divisional task forces with defined inspection mechanisms, mandatory meetings, random inspections, complaint redressal within 48 hours and strict enforcement of fire safety laws.
They said directions were neither advisory nor directory but mandatory in nature, involving issues of fundamental rights, protection of life and dignity of citizens, and constitutional obligations of the state under articles 9 and 14 of the constitution. They said that despite the passage of more than four years, the government authorities had deliberately and contumaciously failed to implement the directions in their true spirit.
They further submitted that so-called task forces exist largely on paper only; inspections remain sporadic, reports are not acted upon, and enforcement against violators is virtually non-existent. They said the tragic fire incident at Gul Plaza stands as a living indictment of the respondents’ continued defiance, disregard and non-compliance of the binding order of the court.
The court was requested to declare that the fire incident at Gull Plaza occurred due to negligence, maladministration, and failure of statutory duties by the government functionaries, and to initiate criminal, departmental and contempt proceedings against responsible officials.
They sought compensation for the victims and traders for their loss as well as an order for a judicial or independent technical inquiry into fire safety compliance with commercial buildings across Karachi. They also sought strict enforcement of the Sindh Fire Safety Act, 2016 and building laws to prevent recurrence of such tragedies. An SHC division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Saleem Jessar issued notices to the KMC, SBCA and others and called their comments on February 10.
