The Sindh High Court has taken exception to non-compliance with the court order in the Karachi Cotton Exchange Building case and directed the Evacuee Trust Property Board’s (ETPB) to de-seal the building.
The direction came on a contempt-of-court plea filed by Karachi Cotton Exchange in the Karachi Cotton Exchange (KCE) building ownership case. The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) had filed a contempt application against the ETPB’s chairman, zonal head and deputy administrator for violating the court’s orders. The SHC had earlier referred the KCE building ownership case to the ETPB chairman for fresh determination of its status.
A counsel for the applicant said the SHC had ordered that the KCA would enjoy the possession of property and continue its business activities without any disturbance, but the order is not being complied with by the ETPB in letter and spirit.
An SHC division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Saleem Jessar observed that specific directions were given to the ETPB and other respondents that petitioners shall enjoy possession. The court observed that alleged contemnors have passed orders and then notified the property to be evacuee trust property without making compliance with the court orders, which is in the court’s view clear defiance of the court orders and tantamount to an offence within the meaning of Article 204 of the Constitution.
The court inquired one of alleged contemnors and ETPB administrator, Asif Khan, why compliance with the court order was not made. He said that since the chairman ETPB has passed an order in terms of the direction of the court, no contempt is made out. He said the ETPB chairman had decided the Cotton Exchange Building case in favour of the ETPB; therefore, the building has been declared as property of the ETPB.
The court expressed dissatisfaction over the comments filed by the alleged contemnor and directed the ETPB to de-seal the property in question and submit a compliance report by September 10.
It also directed the office to tag the identical petitions of the petitioner and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation in which they assailed the orders of the ETPB with regard to possession of the Karachi Cotton Exchange building. The court had earlier ordered status quo on petition challenging ETPB chairman order.
The SHC had earlier disposed of the petitions with regard to the ownership of the historical KCE building and the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) criminal proceedings against the officials of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the KCA over the illegal possession of the KCE building and eviction orders.
The SHC had ordered that the ETPB chairman would decide whether the KCE is an evacuee trust property or an evacuee property. The KMC and the KCA had challenged the FIA’s proceedings on the complaint of the ETPB, the sealing of the premises and the eviction orders.
The FIA had registered a case against officials of the KCA, the KMC and the ETPB for “illegally occupying, leasing and profiting from the evacuee’s land in Karachi for decades”. The SHC had noted in its judgment that since the KCE building is owned by the KCA, the determination of the KCA’s status would automatically decide the fate of the building.
The SHC had directed that the ETPB chairman would decide the fate of the KCA within 90 days and provide a fair opportunity of hearing to all the interested parties, and if need be, summon and examine the witnesses and procure the record.
The SHC had also ordered that the federal government, the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the Sindh government assist the ETPB chairman in procuring the record and attendance of any witness, as and when required.
The SHC had also quashed the FIR registered by the FIA against officials of the KMC, the KCA and the ETPB, saying that it appeared to be a colourful exercise of powers. The court had noted that neither had the ETPB been on the schedule of the FIA nor any element of fraud had been spelt out from the record produced and relied upon by the parties.
The SHC had said that the FIR had been recorded in violation of the FIA Rules, 1975, so the same stood quashed. The court had ordered that until the determination of the status of the property as an evacuee trust property or otherwise, the KCA would enjoy the possession of the property and continue its business activities without any disturbance.
The SHC had ordered that the tenants of the KCE who had deposited rent with the KCA would deposit the same with the Nazir of the court until the determination of the status of the KCA and the KCE building.
The SHC had ordered that the Nazir of the court would invest the rent amount in a profitable scheme, and the same would be refundable subject to the outcome of the proceedings by the ETPB chairman.
